This is typical of government-run or funded programs. The problem is that the word "startup" doesn't have a universally agreed upon definition and different people have radically different understanding of what a "startup" is.
When a governemnt official talks about "startups" (which they typically spell "start-ups" with an hyphen), they almost always mean "recently-created small business". And they generally think that the primary focus of a "start-up" is to generate a profit by selling a product or a service and to hire employees as soon as they can. I.e. when they say "start-up", what they really mean is: "traditional small business".
When people in the tech startup world talk about "startups", they generally mean something very different. PG's definition of a startup [1] is probably what best matches what most people in the startup world mean by "startup". And that's radically different from a traditional small business.
It's not to say that tech startups are better or worse than traditional small businesses. They're simply different, they work in very different ways, have very different life cycles, needs and purposes and need very different kinds of support.
Unfortunately, few government people understand the difference between a small businesses and a tech startups. In fact, very few people in general even know there is a difference. Tech startups are a very weird kind of business that most people, even in the business world, don't really get. Which always leads to this confusion.
Governments launch these support programs aimed at "start-ups", which are in fact aimed at traditional small businesses. Tech startup people get confused by the use of the word "start-up" and assume that these programs are aimed at tech startups.
Tech startup people then complain about the non-sensical requirements of these programs, poor advice given to entrepreneurs and completely inadequate support provided. Which was to be expected since, despite their name, these programs aren't aimed at tech startups at all.
When a governemnt official talks about "startups" (which they typically spell "start-ups" with an hyphen), they almost always mean "recently-created small business". And they generally think that the primary focus of a "start-up" is to generate a profit by selling a product or a service and to hire employees as soon as they can. I.e. when they say "start-up", what they really mean is: "traditional small business".
When people in the tech startup world talk about "startups", they generally mean something very different. PG's definition of a startup [1] is probably what best matches what most people in the startup world mean by "startup". And that's radically different from a traditional small business.
It's not to say that tech startups are better or worse than traditional small businesses. They're simply different, they work in very different ways, have very different life cycles, needs and purposes and need very different kinds of support.
Unfortunately, few government people understand the difference between a small businesses and a tech startups. In fact, very few people in general even know there is a difference. Tech startups are a very weird kind of business that most people, even in the business world, don't really get. Which always leads to this confusion.
Governments launch these support programs aimed at "start-ups", which are in fact aimed at traditional small businesses. Tech startup people get confused by the use of the word "start-up" and assume that these programs are aimed at tech startups.
Tech startup people then complain about the non-sensical requirements of these programs, poor advice given to entrepreneurs and completely inadequate support provided. Which was to be expected since, despite their name, these programs aren't aimed at tech startups at all.
[1] http://www.paulgraham.com/growth.html