And The Hottest Startup Is…

A few days ago, someone asked me who the hottest startup was.  I have to admit that this question made me think.  To be honest, I was not sure how to respond.  The hottest startup based on a category like social media or web 2.0?  The hottest startup in the online space in general?  Or the hottest startup based on how much attention they have received from influential bloggers and writers.  The more thought that went into the question resulted in more questions.  To begin with, what is a startup?  Is it a company that has launched during the last year or is it a company that behaves like it has just launched?  Is it a company that is working toward a big launch?  Does the company have to be seeking or operating with help from angel, seed or venture capital investors?

I guess this query is about as good of an excuse as any to kick off a new research project.  You may have noticed the addition of a company profile section here.  While there are plenty of startups mentioned in the section, not all fall into the startup category.  As the section is updated I am going to spend more time trying to answer this question and in doing so I will try to provide some of my insights into who the hottest startups in the area are.  Along the way I might even propose a formula for which one is the hottest.  As always, your thoughts, nominations and input are highly appreciated.