Written by Lidia Vijga, Co-founder at DeckLinks
Startup is a loud word. It comes with hype, headlines, and a certain kind of ego. If you’re trying to build your first company, that noise can push you into the wrong decisions.
You start optimizing for how you want to be perceived. You start chasing the identity instead of the outcome. You start believing you need VC connections before you even have a customer.
Instead, you need clarity. You need to know what you’re building and what it will demand from you.
So I’m going to keep this unfiltered and super practical.
Small business is not a downgrade
A lot of people treat small business like the “safe” version of building. Like it’s what you do when you can’t build a startup. That’s a media story, and it’s not helpful.
In 2024, the U.S. had about 36.2 million small businesses. That’s roughly 99.9% of all firms. They employ about 46% of private-sector workers.
In the year ending March 2024, small businesses created about 1.2 million net new jobs. That’s around 90% of net new jobs.
Small business is where most builders live. It’s also where many builders quietly win.
If you’re scared to start, here’s another data point. About 77 – 82% survive year one. New businesses aren’t doomed on day one. They’re forced to learn fast.
Media glorifies startups, and it messes with your head
Startups get the spotlight because they come with big headlines. Fundraising. Acquisitions. “Fastest-growing.” That content travels.
But it also creates success theater. Everything looks like cheesecake and peanuts. Smooth. Perfect. Easy to consume.
Real building is the hustle, grind and endless pivots. Most of it never gets published. So aspiring founders think they’re the only ones struggling.
That’s why I started BYVI.
At our previous tech company, my team and I went through a time where it was really hard to get traction or exposure. Then a journalist came out of nowhere and wrote about us. That coverage led to partnerships and clients, and it gave us the greatest feeling.
Traditional PR tends to show up when you already raised money and already have momentum. Early-stage bootstrapped founders need visibility when PR actually matters. That’s why my mission is simple: make press coverage accessible to all startups regardless of their funding stage.
The 3 main differences between startup and small business
When someone asks me “startup or small business,” I don’t start with the label. I look at three forces: innovation, scalability, and growth strategy.
These forces show up in your calendar, your bank account, and your stress levels.
You can mix them. You can shift over time. But you need to know what you’re signing up for.
1. Innovation: disrupting vs improving
Startups usually disrupt something that already exists. They change the rules, or they create a new category. That takes time because you have to educate the market.
Small businesses usually enter a market with proven demand. Customers already buy something similar. Your job is to become the option they trust and stick with.
If you’re trying to leave your 9-to-5, speed matters because it gives you learning. Execution-based businesses often give you faster feedback. You can sell sooner. You can hear objections sooner.
This is why I push founders to build inside what they already know.
I once had a founder tell me about an idea that had zero connection to his background. He was about to jump into a new industry as an outsider. At the same time, he had 10 years of experience somewhere else. I told him to leverage that expertise and solve a problem in the industry he knows very, very well.
Your experience and your network are leverage. So is your ability to speak the customer’s language without guessing.
If you want a practical starting point, look at your current job or your last job. Find the messy process people complain about privately. Start there. Then talk to the people living that pain. Let them talk. Listen hard. Pay attention to what they’re not saying, because that’s usually where the real problem is hiding.
2. Scalability: owner-led trust vs brand-led trust
This is where you have to be honest about the kind of life you want.
A startup is usually designed to scale in a way where the business can run without the founder in every room. The product and brand carry the value. The company becomes an asset.
A small business often grows around the owner. Even with systems and a team, the trust can still live in the owner’s relationships. People buy because they like you. And they stay because they trust you.
But this model changes what happens when you step away. It also changes the value of the business if you ever want to sell it. If customers are loyal to you, a buyer will worry they leave when you leave.
Startups usually build a brand separate from the founder on purpose. Founders still shape the company deeply. But the goal is for the brand to hold value even without the founder’s personal relationships.
So ask yourself a blunt question: do you want to be the business, or do you want to build an asset that can run without you?
3. Growth strategy: venture speed comes with venture pressure
Startups often use venture capital to scale quickly. Small businesses often grow with revenue, slowly and steadily, without external capital.
Here’s the trap with VC. Once you raise money, you’re forced to spend money. If you haven’t validated your positioning, your messaging, and your acquisition channels, you’ll burn cash on trial and error.
I tell founders to delay raising venture capital until they have product-market fit. Then every dollar has a job. Then growth becomes intentional.
I’m obsessed with organic growth because bootstrapped founders don’t have a choice. They have to figure out what works with the resources they have. And founders often don’t realize how much they know until you get it out of them.
Validation: the only milestone I trust
Aspiring founders get stuck in the idea phase all the time. They collect compliments. They build waitlists. They “launch” three times without revenue.
I don’t trust any of that.
The only true validation for a startup idea is a credit card payment.
That’s also why I love when founder stories lead to real outcomes. I once wrote about a founder trying to validate their MVP. After the story was published, they received emails from potential clients. That’s the mailbox moment you can build a business on.
If you’re scared of failure, focus on validation instead of perfection. You’re not marrying the idea. You’re testing it.
Work-life blend is real, and you need to accept it early
A lot of people want to start a company, but they also want strict work-life balance from day one. I think that expectation creates disappointment.
Early building takes obsession. If you put hard boundaries too early, you move slower. You might lose to someone who’s fully committed.
I don’t believe in chasing work-life balance early. I believe in work-life blend. You build a company around your life because you care about the problem and the people you’re solving it for.
My blunt example is vacations. Even when we go away, I still open my laptop. When I’m out with friends, my brain connects dots back to the company. Your brain is 100% on.
This intensity has a dark side. Entrepreneurship can break you as an individual. It can also make you better and stronger. Stay close to purpose, stay close to customers, and keep proof that you’re helping people.
A quick warning on marketplaces
If you’re a first-time founder, marketplaces can look like the ultimate model. They can also crush you.
Building a marketplace is almost like building two businesses at the same time. You need buyers and sellers, and you need both sides to trust you.
I know this personally because BriefBid was a marketplace connecting buyers and sellers in the media space. It worked, but it’s not what I’d recommend as your first move.
Start with a one-sided solution. Solve one problem for one audience. One ICP. If you ever go marketplace later, think “single player mode” first so each side gets value even if no transaction happens.
Pick the game you can stay in
Startups and small businesses are both valid. The wrong move is building for ego, then quitting when it gets hard.
Start somewhere. Solve a real problem for real people. Get the first payment. Then keep iterating through the endless pivots until you find the version that works.
And if you ever feel unseen, reach out, and I’d happy to cover your story.
Until then, be you, don’t ask for permissions and keep building.
FAQs
Is starting a small business actually as risky as people say?
The media loves failure stories, but data says otherwise. Around 77-82% of new businesses survive year one. You aren’t doomed on day one. Fear paralyzes aspiring founders, but early on, you just need to launch, listen to customers, and pivot quickly.
Do I need a completely original idea to start a company?
Absolutely not. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel to win. In fact, small businesses thrive by entering markets with proven demand. I always tell founders to leverage their existing expertise. Look at your current job, find the messy processes people complain about privately, and build a better solution.
Should I quit my 9-to-5 job before launching my startup?
No. Keep your job while you validate. The only true validation is a credit card payment, not a waitlist. Building a business requires a work-life blend, and premature financial pressure forces bad decisions. Start as a side hustle, test your MVP, and transition when revenue demands your full attention.
Do I need venture capital to get my startup off the ground?
Bootstrapping is safer. Raising VC early means burning cash on errors. You can build momentum without outside funding. Focus instead on steadily creating real traction and validating the market in ways that last, proving the business works before taking on venture capital.
Do I need venture capital to get my startup off the ground?
Bootstrapping is safer. Raising VC early means burning cash on errors. You can build momentum without outside funding. Focus instead on steadily creating real traction and validating the market in ways that last, proving the business works before taking on venture capital.
Can a small business make as much of an impact as a tech startup?
Small businesses are the economy’s engine. In the year ending March 2024, they generated 1.2 million net new jobs, about 90% of all new jobs. You don’t need a TechCrunch headline or rapid scale to build something that genuinely changes lives.
