business-modelIt seems to me that many startups have a goal of burning bright and fast in order to get larger companies to buy them out. What if you want to “startup” a tech business but you don’t want to sell it? For example, if your business model focuses on empowering workers with a democratic employee-directed enterprise, with long-term career stability, while also providing the best services to your clients? Can you still label yourself a startup? Participate in startup-focused events like local networking galas or MS Bizspark? Or does it go against the accepted industry definition to say you’re a startup but you’re not going to be for sale… ever? Will anyone who ever calls you be nonplussed when you say you’re not investor-owned?
TL; DR: You’re a startup.
One term you are searching for in your question but not using is exit strategy. Essentially, you are describing a no-exit exit strategy. Or a long-term hold play. Another term you are using without saying is self-funded.
Generally, meaning is more important than semantics but since this question is strictly about semantics, I thought I would mention the above two points.
Typically people use the term startup to describe where a company is in its life cycle and not necessarily:
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