There are many roads that lead to the birth of a new business and there are many roads that lead to the birth of a new Startup. There is the person who burns with entrepreneurial fire and racks his brain until he has found a good idea on which to concentrate his efforts; there are projects that are born almost for fun or as a response to a contest and there are the fruits of university research. There can be many starting points for creating a startup.

The term "start up" identifies a new company which, established in the form of a temporary organization or in that of a joint-stock company, seeks a repeatable and scalable business model. Today, those who appear on the market and embark on the path to success are above all innovative start-ups, defined by the legislative decree of 18 October 2012.

Initially the term start up identified emerging entrepreneurial ideas operating in the information technology and internet sector. Over time, the field of use has expanded to include all other sectors of Italian entrepreneurship.

The three fundamental characteristics that a start up must have are:

A start up works like other companies: it creates a product or service that customers will then purchase. The substantial difference between a start-up and other activities is that companies replicate a product that has already been made before, that is, they start from an already existing model, while a start-up aims to create a new and innovative model. Startups aim to grow quickly, this is another factor that differentiates them from other companies. They continuously improve their products by collecting data and feedback, seeking to expand their customer base and by doing so they expand market share and are able to raise more funding and consequently grow faster.