When does a startup stop being a startup?

What metrics and size would you say makes a startup not a startup anymore?

I'm building a directory of tech companies so want to figure out how to segment startups.

When it finds a repeatable, scalable business model.

From Steve Blank: "Startup is a temporary organization designed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model."

and

"A company is a permanent organization designed to execute a repeatable and scalable business model."

Steve says "Companies are not startups", but I feel that even an established company should look for pivots to find its next growth opportunity (new product line, new markets, etc.), which could change its' business model.

When you stop being a Startup depends entirely on what you define as being a Startup in the first place. There is no correct answer.

I recently gave a talk entitled "Startup?", you can see the slides and read the notes, which shows that five people who are very influential in the world of entrepreneurship, have very different definitions of what a Startup is.

I have a simpler formula to qualify what is and isn't a startup:

You're not a startup anymore if all these are satisfied:

• You're consistently profitable
• You're consistently growing
• You have at least $5M in yearly revenues