8. What is a Start-Up?

What exactly is a start-up? The most widely used definition of this term on an international level is that comes from Steve Blank, entrepreneur and serial start-up creator:

A startup is an organization formed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model.

In fact, scalability and repeatability are the two key features of a start-up, the main reason prompting a potential investor to decide to back one project rather than another.

The most successful start-ups, those believed to be worth over one billion dollars, number about 177 worldwide (November 2016, Source) and are so rare that they are called “Unicorns”- as fabulous as the mythical animals. If you are curious to know their names, consult the page of the Billion Dollar Startup Club, which is updated almost in real time.

At time of writing only nine out of the total are related to the Internet of Food and none of them are listed in the the top 10 most valuable, even though – unsurprisingly - chart topping Uber, a private transport service leader all over the world, has recently invested in meals delivery.