Not any new IT business is a startup. Moreover 99% of people need no startups, self-employment or a classic business is cool enough.

1. Start-up or not Start-up?
What is the difference between self-
employment, business, and startup?
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2. What's the difference?
Self-employer is a person who works for himself, alone or as a member of
some team. The business model is simple and eats all the person's time.
Examples: workshop, barber salon, kiosk, web-design studio :)
Business is an organization that trades goods or services to consumers to
make money. Lots of people do lots of work, so a businessman has free time
to control more than one business at the same time.
Startup is a company or temporary organization designed to look for a
repeatable and scalable business model ©. The main "product" of startup is
the company itself, so the company has to be "sold" at the end of the start-up
phase. Exit strategy examples: acquisition by bigger company, merging with
other business, become a public company (IPO).
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3. Business vs. Startup
Classic business has to be always profitable. If you have
no profit during few months you are driving to bankruptcy.
Money
Time
Startup earns not enough money at the beginning, but
then it growth up exponentially.
Money
Time
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4. Credit or Investment?
Credit - you get money, save all equity, manage your
company as you wish. But you have to bail something and
return money back, in time.
Investment - you lose equity, investor tells you how to
spend money and to manage your business! But you share
all risks and don't have to return the real money :)
Note: If you want to play investments game your company
has to be "sold" at the end!
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5. Investors. Who are they?
3F investors - friends, family, and fools. They give money
for the idea or into the team (seed investments).
Angel investors give money to find and develop scalable
business model ($50-300K for 10-30%).
Venture capital funds give money to scale successful and
profitable business ($1m+ for 20-40%).
Note: There are lots of people with money, but not all of
them can be investors, don't play the game without rules!
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6. Startup's life cycle
● Investigating the problem.
● Forming a team and building a prototype.
● Seed investments (optional).
● Minimum viable product (MVP).
● First customers and cash-flow, proof of business
concept.
● Additional angel investments (optional).
● Break-even point and growing revenue.
● Round A (B-C) venture investments to scale the
business.
● Acquisition or IPO.
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7. Startup's life cycle in graph
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8. What to choose?
If you want to work less, be free from anything, just get
money for living and fun - choose self-employment.
If you want to be rich and powerful, own companies to be
inherited by your children - become a businessman.
If you want to change the world and build something
big, spending 20 hours every day, startup is what you
need!
There is alternative way to change the world, be rich, and
work less at the same time. If you have enough money and
business contacts you can be an investor :)
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