It also depends on how one defines "fail." A majority of startup I know* are "living dead." This means:
- There are 1-20 employees
- Big-O, investors have seen no returns
- Big-O, they're cash-flow neutral and growth/decline neutral
A VC defines that as a "fail." Founders are often very happy running a small business in their domain of passion. It's a lot more fun than a big business.
* Yes, that's a very strong sample bias. I don't mean to imply a statistical sample, and explaining the types of startups I typically interact with would be an off-topic essay.
- There are 1-20 employees
- Big-O, investors have seen no returns
- Big-O, they're cash-flow neutral and growth/decline neutral
A VC defines that as a "fail." Founders are often very happy running a small business in their domain of passion. It's a lot more fun than a big business.
* Yes, that's a very strong sample bias. I don't mean to imply a statistical sample, and explaining the types of startups I typically interact with would be an off-topic essay.