Many large companies — including some that you wouldn't think of as "tech companies" — have changed or are in the process of changing their corporate cultures to be more "startup" like. So I don't think culture is a useful discriminator any more.
It might be more useful to differentiate based on target or expected future growth. Real startups are intended to be scalable. A company can only reasonably be described as a startup if it expects to grow >10× in revenue or employee count over the next few years.
It might be more useful to differentiate based on target or expected future growth. Real startups are intended to be scalable. A company can only reasonably be described as a startup if it expects to grow >10× in revenue or employee count over the next few years.