Founders... are you starting a startup or are you starting a business

In this days, when we talk to many founders, the typical answerwe get for the above question is, we are a startup, however, when we dig deeper, we realised they are starting a business not a startup. Being mindful and clear whether your business is a startup or a regular business is crucial as that will mean a very different business strategy,

THE TRUTH HERE, WHILE EVERY STARTUP IS A NEW BUSINESS, REVERSE IS NOT TRUE, NOT ALL NEW BUSINESS IS A STARTUP.

The core difference between a startup and a regular business lies in their funding model, business intent, offering and their scalability...

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Startup vs. Regular Business Differences

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Differentiate a startup froma regular business

While every startup is a "new business," not every new business is a "startup." The core difference lies in their intent, scalability, and funding model.

Think of a regular business like a car (designed to get you from A to B reliably) and a startup like a rocket (designed to reach the moon, though it might explode on the launchpad).

1. Growth & Scalability

This is the single biggest differentiator.

Regular Business: Usually targets a local or specific niche market (e.g., a coffee shop, a plumbing business, or a law firm). Growth is linear: if you want to double your revenue, you often have to double your costs (e.g., buy a second truck, hire a second plumber). Thus if there are establish player in your market, you are generally not a startup... e.g. I have a prospect who build a lead management systems and think they are a startup, reality, they are a regular business facing a red ocean market with establish product and entrench provider...

Startup: Designed to scale exponentially. The goal is to acquire millions of users with minimal increases in operational costs. This is why most startups are tech-based; once the software is built, it costs very little to sell it to the 1st customer vs. the 1,000,000th.

2. Innovation vs. Execution

Regular Business: Operates within a proven business model. You don't need to "disrupt" the concept of a hair salon to make money; you just need to execute better than the salon down the street.

Startup: Often seeks to disrupt an industry or create a new market entirely. It begins with a hypothesis (e.g., "People will pay to sleep in a stranger's spare room") and spends its early years searching for a "repeatable and scalable business model." Thus startup need to have a strategy to start educating the market before they can sell, a regular business operates in a market where custo er already knows the offerings, thus you need to have strong unique value proposition and good return om investment arguments to show to your customer.

3. Funding & Ownership

Regular Business: Typically funded by the owner’s savings, bank loans, or reinvested profits. The owner usually aims to keep 100% ownership and focuses on profitability from Day 1 to stay afloat. In regular business, managing your equity in the business is key...

Startup: Frequently seeks Venture Capital (VC) or Angel investment. Founders trade equity (ownership) for cash to fuel rapid growth. Startups often operate at a massive loss for years (prioritizing growth over profit) because they are betting on a massive future payout.

4. Exit Strategy

Regular Business: The goal is usually to provide a stable income for the owner and perhaps be passed down to family or sold to another local operator decades later.

Startup: Almost always has an "exit" in mind from the start. Investors expect a return within 5–10 years, usually through an Acquisition (being bought by a giant like Google) or an IPO (going public on the stock market)

Understanding the above is key as that would set the tone for the business strategy, approach to market and also your product needs...

We, at BM&P understands this and am happy to help you develop a real strategy that will help you lower risk and maximize successes. Message us or visit our website www.bmp-consult.com to let us share our advise for you.