This is thought-provoking.

So, while there may be some official way to measure a Startup vs a Company, I have increasingly come to appreciate the mindset or the culture what Startups embody against what a Company embodies. And its not uncommon to see or hear many Companies trying to work like a Startup.

The number one thing I love about Startups is that they usually have a Hunger fueled by Paranoia that they may get eaten any day. Companies tend to become complacent.

The other counter-view is that Companies are not ready to change - they believe in "this is the way it has always been and will be" which in a way is going against the status-quo of not innovating, doing this differently (example conventionally) and by doing all this they alienate Customers who want something better. :)