Since revenues, profits, and employment numbers shift drastically between companies and industries, there is no hard and fast rule defining a startup. We believe a startup is a company still searching for its business model.
However, if two or more of the following is true for your company, you are most likely no longer a startup.
You have:
- been acquired by a larger company
- more than one office
- revenues greater than €2 million
- more than 50 employees
- over five people on the board
- and founders who have personally sold shares.
(Inspired by this article on Forbes)
As a minimum, we expect that at least two of the following is true before applying to our program.
You have:
- more than one person in your team
- achieved your first funding and/or revenue
- a working prototype or similar in place to demonstrate your solution.
What is a Sustainable Startup?
It is not a requirement to apply to our program that you describe your business as an impact startup, a zebra company, or a sustainable business. However, we do see that startups looking to make the world a better place tend to get more investments from Time Angels, simply because more people are inclined to invest their time in something that truly makes an impact on a greater scale.
We also see that startups communicating their impact with the help of the SDG’s are more succesful in reaching their target audience and connect with the time investors with similar values and passion to make a change in the same area.
On the other hand, startups that are solely profit-driven tends to have an easier time with financial investors, and as such are rarely in need of time investments.