Are you even a startup anymore?

Have you ever wondered why people suddenly stopped calling their ventures businesses, and started using the term startup? What really is the difference between a business and a startup? Do people just keep using the term startup cause it sounds more trendy and fancy?

Here's the thing, not all small and medium businesses are startups. Say, you start a business where you import things from AliExpress and sell them for a small profit to Bangladeshi customers. That is by no means a startup. Startups are businesses that have high growth potential and scalability. Your business of reselling goods from AliExpress can neither make a global impact, nor is it disruptive and technology-driven in any way. Your aim with that business is to make some profit, whereas a true startup's aim is to scale much higher, and go for a public IPO some day.

Uber in its early days is a prime example of a startup. It ticks all the boxes: technology-driven, disruptive, highly scalable, and globally impactful. But is Uber still a startup, 9 years after its launch? No. That is where Bangladeshi companies go wrong; maybe giving their business this title earns them more funding from the government, or features in random online blogs, or some completely useless awards. Or maybe they use it for some peace of mind, and on top of that, the only way to continue getting funding for an old business that hasn't been able to grow in a decade is to still call it a startup.

The word startup has become more of a cultural phenomenon than a definitive term these days. Telling everyone that you have a "business" just doesn't cut it anymore. In our minds, startups have cooler, albeit smaller offices, the employees are free to dress however they like, and the bosses aren't strict. The word's just been branded in that way.

But this branding has helped in some ways, as annoying as it may be to see the word being thrown around everywhere. There was a time when doing business was stigmatised in Bangladesh. If you told someone that you've started a business after completing graduation, they'd just look at you with horror and wonder how you will ever be able to support a family. Now, thanks to startups being a cooler alternative, it's no longer looked down upon. You will still face a thousand roadblocks in your startup journey, but at least your future father-in-law (probably) won't look at you like you're a dirty dung beetle who doesn't deserve his daughter's hand.

Aanila is the sub-editor of Next Step. In her free time she counts Bangladeshi ride-sharing apps, but it's a never-ending list. You can reach her at aanila.tarannum@gmail.com.