what is a startup 
the term startup refers to a company in the first stages of operations startups are founded by one or more entrepreneurs who want to develop a product or service for which they believe there is demand these companies generally start with high costs and limited revenue which is why they look for capital from a variety of sources such as venture capitalists investopedia laura porterunderstanding startupsstartups are companies or ventures that are focused on a single product or service that the founders want to bring to market these companies typically don t have a fully developed business model and more crucially lack adequate capital to move onto the next phase of business most of these companies are initially funded by their founders many startups turn to others for more funding including family friends and venture capitalists silicon valley is known for its strong venture capitalist community and is a popular destination for startups but is also widely considered the most demanding arena startups can use seed capital to invest in research and to develop their business plans market research helps determine the demand for a product or service while a comprehensive business plan outlines the company s mission statement vision and goals as well as management and marketing strategies the first few years are very important for startups this is the time that entrepreneurs should use to concentrate on raising capital and developing a business model special considerationsthere are a number of different factors that entrepreneurs must think of as they try to get their new business off the ground and begin operations we ve listed some of the most common ones below location can make or break any business and it s often one of the most important considerations for anyone starting up in the business world startups must decide whether their business is conducted online in an office or home office or in a store the location depends on the product or service being offered for example a technology startup selling virtual reality hardware may need a physical storefront to give customers a face to face demonstration of the product s complex features startups need to consider what legal structure best fits their entity a sole proprietorship is suited for a founder who is also the key employee of a business partnerships are a viable legal structure for businesses that consist of several people who have joint ownership and they re also fairly straightforward to establish personal liability can be reduced by registering a startup as a limited liability company llc startups often raise funds by turning to family and friends or by using venture capitalists this is a group of professional investors that specialize in funding startups crowdfunding has become a viable way for many people to get access to the cash they need to move forward in the business process the entrepreneur sets up a crowdfunding page online allowing people who believe in the company to donate money startups may use credit to commence their operations a perfect credit history may allow the startup to use a line of credit as funding this option carries the most risk particularly if the startup is unsuccessful other companies choose small business loans to help fuel growth banks typically have several specialized options available for small businesses a microloan is a short term low interest product tailored for startups a detailed business plan is often required in order to qualify advantages and disadvantages of startupsthere are a variety of advantages to working for a startup more responsibility and opportunities to learn are two as startups have fewer employees than large established companies employees tend to wear many hats working in a variety of roles which leads to more responsibility as well as opportunities to learn startups tend to be more relaxed in nature making the workplace more of a communal experience with flexible hours increased employee interaction and flexibility startups tend to also have better workplace benefits such as nurseries for children free food and shorter workweeks the work at startups can also be more rewarding as innovation is welcomed and managers allow talented employees to run with ideas with little supervision one of the primary disadvantages of a startup is increased risk this primarily applies to the success and longevity of a startup new businesses need to prove themselves and raise capital before they can start turning a profit keeping investors happy with the startup s progress is critical the risk of shutting down or not having enough capital to continue operations before turning a profit is ever present long hours are characteristic of startups as everyone is working toward the same goal to see the startup succeed this can lead to high stress moments and sometimes compensation that isn t commensurate with the hours worked competition is also always high as there tend to be a handful of startups working on the same idea more opportunities to learnincreased responsibilityflexibilityworkplace benefitsinnovation is encouragedflexible hoursrisk of failurehaving to raise capitalhigh stresscompetitive business environmentexamples of startupsdotcoms were a common startup in the 1990s venture capital was extremely easy to obtain during this time due to a frenzy among investors to speculate on the emergence of these new businesses unfortunately most of these internet startups eventually went bust due to major flaws in their business plans such as lacking a path to sustainable revenue however a handful of companies survived when the dotcom bubble burst amazon amzn and ebay ebay are just two examples many startups fail within the first few years that s why this initial period is important entrepreneurs need to find money create a business model and business plan hire key personnel work out intricate details such as equity stakes for partners and investors and plan for the long run many of today s most successful companies microsoft msft apple aapl and meta meta formerly facebook to name a few began as startups and ended up becoming publicly traded companies 