When people say things like "the engines of the economy, small businesses and startups", they are referring to job growth and innovation. Large businesses have most of the revenue, but small, new businesses are where tomorrow's champions come from:
Each wave of firm startups creates a substantial number of jobs. In the first years following entry, many startups fail [...] but the surviving young businesses grow very fast. In this respect, the startups are a critical component of the experimentation process that contributes to restructuring and growth in the U.S. on an ongoing basis. -- http://www.nber.org/papers/w16300.pdf
When people say things like "the engines of the economy, small businesses and startups", they are referring to job growth and innovation. Large businesses have most of the revenue, but small, new businesses are where tomorrow's champions come from:
Each wave of firm startups creates a substantial number of jobs. In the first years following entry, many startups fail [...] but the surviving young businesses grow very fast. In this respect, the startups are a critical component of the experimentation process that contributes to restructuring and growth in the U.S. on an ongoing basis. -- http://www.nber.org/papers/w16300.pdf