By which the author means "massive-scale internet company". Needless to say, it's possible to be an "internet startup" without becoming a publicly listed behemoth or selling yourself to one. It might be more difficult now to build a massive-scale internet company from scratch - and perhaps antitrust regulation of internet companies needs tightening. But it's much easier now than a decade ago to build an internet-based business that allows you to do interesting work and have adequate income.