Careful there. I put "lifestyle" in quotes due to my own rejection of the prevailing VC-driven silicon valley disdain for lower-growth businesses. FWIW I also feel like HN is pretty well balanced on this issue as well (at least compared to SV at large).
However ambition is ambition, let's not redefine the word as a means of affirmative action. I never made a value judgement that every business should have endless ambition, or that getting what you want from a business and being satisfied is bad; I merely stated that the moniker "lifestyle business" is defined more by the ambitions of those running the company than any inherent quality of the business.
Late to the party but, that word (ambition) doesn't mean what you think it means. It only means "a strong desire to do or achieve something" -- it doesn't pass judgment on how "big" that thing is.
By your (faulty) definition... for you to want to own a world-class airline is ambitious. But for Richard Branson, it's a deal brokered over lunch. See the problem?
However ambition is ambition, let's not redefine the word as a means of affirmative action. I never made a value judgement that every business should have endless ambition, or that getting what you want from a business and being satisfied is bad; I merely stated that the moniker "lifestyle business" is defined more by the ambitions of those running the company than any inherent quality of the business.