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I think a reasonable point at which to consider startups just normal companies is upon IPO or acquisition. That's certainly the end goal for most startups, and when the structure really changes.

I think IPO or acquisition is to narrow criteria. Not all companies go public. You won't call behemoths like Koch Industries, Ernst & Young, Dell or Heinz startups, yet they are not public.

...unless they don't IPO, or they aren't acquired. Hopefully there are less grim options for startups to be validated.

"When is a startup no longer a startup?"

There is really no dejure definition of a startup as it is. Not to mention that the site doesn't even give its own definition of what qualifies to be listed on the site.

+1. I wonder if making the work of curating the list of startups driven by a community, like in Wikipedia, would be more beneficial? It would also work better if start-ups are defined as part of the guideline.