What Is a Startup? Definition, How Long It Lasts and When It Ends

By Solomon Wiesen, editor. Updated October 2026. Editorial standards | How this site is funded

A startup is a young company built to grow fast, usually funded by outside investors before it earns a profit. Here is the plain definition, how many years the label lasts under official rules, and the signs a company has outgrown it.

What is a startup?

A startup is a young company built to find a business model that can grow fast and scale well beyond its founders. Three traits separate it from an ordinary new business: it is new (usually under 10 years old), it is built for rapid growth rather than steady local income, and it usually depends on outside capital (angels, venture capital or crowdfunding) to get there, because revenue arrives later than spending.

A bakery that opens next month is a new small business. A company writing software that it hopes to sell to 50,000 bakeries is a startup. The age can be the same; the ambition and the funding model are different.

How long is a company considered a startup?

Short answer: up to about 10 years, and often less. There is no single legal rule in the United States, so the answer depends on who is counting:

• US Census Bureau: in its Business Dynamics Statistics, a “startup” is a firm in its first year (age 0). Firms aged 1 to 5 are counted as young firms.
• European Commission (2026): Recommendation (EU) 2026/720 defines an innovative startup as one operating for less than 10 years since registration, with fewer than 100 employees and turnover or balance sheet of EUR 10 million or less.
• India (DPIIT): up to 10 years from incorporation for regular startups, and up to 20 years for deep tech companies under rules notified on February 4, 2026.
• Investors and press: age matters less than scale. Most venture investors stop calling a company a startup once it has a proven, repeatable business model, whatever its age.

In practice, if your company is under 5 years old and still looking for product-market fit, everyone will call it a startup. Between years 5 and 10 it depends on growth and size. Past 10 years, few definitions still apply.

When is a company no longer a startup?

A company stops being a startup when it hits any one of these markers:

• It crosses the 50-100-500 line. Former TechCrunch writer Alex Wilhelm proposed that a company is no longer a startup once it reaches a $50 million forward revenue run rate, 100 or more employees, or a valuation above $500 million.
• It goes public or is acquired. An IPO or acquisition ends startup status for nearly every definition.
• It ages out. Under the EU and India rules, the label expires at 10 years (20 for Indian deep tech).
• It finds a repeatable model. Once sales are predictable and the company is scaling a known playbook rather than searching for one, it has become a growth company.
• It is profitable and no longer chasing outside capital. A business that funds itself from earnings and grows steadily behaves like a small or mid-size business, whatever it calls itself.

Startup vs small business

The distinction matters for money. Venture investors fund startups; banks and the SBA fund small businesses. If you are not building for venture-scale growth, a startup business loan or an SBA loan is usually the better path than chasing investors.

The stages of a startup

1. Idea and pre-seed: founders, a prototype, money from savings, friends and family, or angels.
2. Seed: first customers and the first priced round from angels or seed funds.
3. Series A and B: product-market fit is proven and venture capital pays to scale sales.
4. Growth (Series C and later): the company is scaling a known model. By most yardsticks above, it is leaving startup territory.

For real examples, see our list of New York City startups and NYC startups that raised money in 2026.

Where to go next

General information, not legal or financial advice. Lender terms change; confirm them with the lender before you apply.