D2L is no longer a startup

This post is probably not very important (are they ever?). But I felt compelled to point out a few facts about Desire2Learn. This compelsion (that's a Barney Fife word) was fueled by recent news articles about D2L, like this one:

The Globe and Mail published this article about a new COO at D2L. Notice in the headline that they call D2L a "startup."

I'm not sure why they choose to use that term. How long exactly is a company called a startup?
  • D2L was founded in 1999. I guess that means that they'll be celebrating 13 years in business sometime this year.
  • They currently have more than 600 clients and six million users.
  • There are nearly 400 D2L employees located around the globe.

I have personally been a part of the D2L user community for over 8 years. Doesn't feel like a startup to me.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Reasons for calling D2L a startup:

1) Draw parallels with Instructure, an upstart with more potential and creativity than all of D2L.

2) Connote an image of a "been-there-done-that" executive moving on to the next big thing (Heck, he pulled up RIM by their britches didn't he?).

3) Focus on the positive side of hiring a RIM executive, and ignore the more obvious, and relevant, overtures.
January 19, 2012 4:30 PM
Barry Dahl said…
I'll just push back a little on anon's point #1. Instructure is a startup. A couple years old compared to 13 for D2L. Startup should have something to do with the age of the business, shouldn't it?
January 19, 2012 4:40 PM
Sneezy said…
Perhaps the author's criteria for a company mature enough not to be a startup is it become publicly traded on a stock market or being merged or bought? Typically becoming long-term profitable is a criteria thrown in there, but all too often financial writers ignore it.
January 21, 2012 3:16 PM
Stephen Kelly said…
I know some folks still don't think very highly of Wikipedia, but content on the site is published publicly and highly read (that's got to count for something). Here is a frame of reference - feel free to disagree.

Startup Company

"Startup companies can come in all forms, but the phrase "startup company" is often associated with high growth, technology oriented companies. Investors are generally most attracted to those new companies distinguished by their risk/reward profile and scalability..."

"A company may cease to be a startup as it passes various milestones, such as becoming profitable, or becoming publicly traded in an IPO, or ceasing to exist as an independent entity via a merger or acquisition. Companies may also fail and cease to operate altogether."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Startup_company
January 23, 2012 10:04 AM
Anonymous said…
lol @ these comments.
February 20, 2012 4:09 PM
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