A startup is a young company founded by entrepreneurs to develop a unique product or service and bring it to market. Startups tend to operate on a shoestring budget using initial funding from founders and their friends/family. One reason startups fail is a lack of market need - they don't solve real problems customers are willing to pay to address. To succeed, startups must determine the problem, identify their target customer, understand how customers currently solve the problem, develop a solution, and test if their product uniquely meets customers' needs - achieving product-market fit.