IP for new startup

You need to define what is valuable and thus need protecting, whether copyright for the software, design UX for the interface, secrets for any algorithms. Each has different costs-benefits, especially in enforcement so then it comes down to business judgement whether worth the effort at different business/funding stages. For example, with B2B the key is actually contracts with participants so getting good lawyers would be wiorth it. For appFacing, preventing competitors from cloning the UX may require not just registration but hiring people to actively look for clones and send nastygrams. As you see, govts provide legal recourse for the extreme cases but startups have to rely on self-help and aligning with interests of customers.