What is a “startup”?
A startup is a company in the early phase of operation — searching for a repeatable, scalable business model under conditions of high uncertainty. Steve Blank defined startups as “temporary organisations designed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model”; Paul Graham at Y Combinator emphasised growth as the defining characteristic (“a startup is a company designed to grow fast”). Both definitions distinguish startups from small businesses, which are stable operations with known economics.
What makes a startup a startup
- Uncertainty: the team is creating new value where the product, market or both are unproven.
- Growth ambition: non-linear scaling, often global, with venture-scale outcome potential.
- Capital path: external equity from angels, VCs, or growth funds typical; bootstrapping possible but rare for venture-scale models.
- Time-limited identity: startups stop being startups once the model is found and scaled — they become companies.
Startup stages
- Pre-seed: idea or early prototype; founder team forming.
- Seed: product shipped; early customers; searching for fit.
- Series A: product-market fit signals; scaling acquisition.
- Series B-D: scaling go-to-market; expanding internationally.
- Late stage: mature operations; preparing for exit.
Türk startup ekosisteminde
Türk startup ekosistemi son 10 yılda dramatik olgunlaştı — Trendyol, Peak Games, Getir, Insider, Dream Games gibi unicorn’lar lokal ve global başarıyı kanıtladı. Yerli erken-aşama destek (TÜBİTAK BİGG, KOSGEB), yerli VC kapasitesi (Inveo, Maxis, Sabancı Ventures) ve uluslararası fon erişimi (500 Global, Earlybird Digital East) tam stack erişim sunar. Cyprus/Delaware HoldCo + Türkiye OpCo yapısı standart hale geldi.
Do: name your company a startup only while you are genuinely searching for the model; transition to “company” language as scale becomes the focus.
Don’t: use “startup” indefinitely as an excuse for operating informality — at scale, the absence of process becomes the bottleneck.