You can create an LXC container and have it booted to a shell in under a minute
Rhel5 on a VM booted in under a minute easily. Rhel6 on a VM booted in around a minute. Rhel7 on a VM booted in almost a minute, and the trend accelerated from there. Wow, is RhelX a piece for its frail-boat booting.
The key is the monolith.