I think if you are including coffee shops, dry cleaners, and the rest of small businesses that are self-funded, I agree. If you look at VC backed high tech startups, I don't think that is the norm:
What about non-vc backed high tech startups, which are the by far the majority of tech jobs? (my company, fwiw) We have investors sure, but the two founders retain the control. All of the companies we have acquired were in similar situations. In fact it is precisely not until you get to VC-backed startups where this becomes surprising, such as in the GP comment I was referring to.
If you actually make money, have positive cash flow, and have a sustainable business model, you don't have to give up control. The investors will come to you -- foreign concept to the SV-SF "high tech" bubble, I know.
Startups is such a loosely qualified term these days that it practically means any business that has "recently started", so no you don't need a citation because the word in of itself is subjective.
WeWork presents itself as tech startup and is often presented that way. They are really more a real estate business, but in this context their self perception is the only relevant view
https://www.capshare.com/blog/4-key-insights-from-5000-cap-t...