Although there is not a single answer to the question of ‘what startup is’. In the broadest sense we can define this concept as the name given to the entrepreneurships that are technology based, innovative and open to development. There isn’t a specific age limit for startup, from young to old, everyone can step into a new job with a creative idea.
For innovative thinking to be put into practice, which is the main element of startup, a convenient cultural and economic environment is needed. In other words, the development of startup depends on the presence of an ecosystem that promotes it. In our country, we observe that the startup ecosystem has evolved in terms of both entrepreneurs and investors.
Nowadays, for the development and commercialization of an idea, incubation centers have been frequently established in our country. Incubation centers, which provide support to the entrepreneurs in the process of realization and commercialization of their ideas, support them to access to the investors, to obtain capital support and to gain a professional perspective while guiding them at the same time. In addition to the incubation centers opened in recent years in our country, technoparks opened in many universities also serve as incubation centers.
If we examine the history of startup, we can say that the first steps were taken during the Great Depression in the 1920s. The first example of startups is International Business Machines, known as IBM. Leading brands such as Microsoft, Google and Apple are turning points for the startup ecosystem. While according to some studies, the Dot-com (point-com) period is considered as the beginning of startups. It might be useful to consider examples of earlier periods since the startup concept does not consist solely of web sites.
As a result, although not as a concept, startup has been in existence for nearly 100 years. Although perhaps millions of startup ideas have been produced, a limited number of them has been successful enough. The remaining ones had to end before they could access to the market.
Failures, like achievements, may have occured depending on social and economic returns; factors such as management, marketing, capital and team. Today, there are many resources, lessons learned, support mechanisms, networks and programs to bring new ideas to life. In this sense, research and development phase, trial and fail experiences are of great importance for startups.
