Glossary

An accelerator is a program or organization that helps early-stage startups accelerate their growth through resources, mentoring, and investments.

Agile refers to a working methodology that aims to promote flexibility and rapid adaptability in project development by emphasizing iterative and incremental processes.

Bootstrapping means starting and running a startup without external funding, relying on one's resources and revenue.

Burn rate refers to the rate at which a startup is spending its capital or funds to cover operational expenses.

A Business Angel is an individual who provides capital, mentorship, and support to early-stage startups in exchange for equity or convertible debt.

A business idea is a concept or innovative thought that serves as the foundation for starting a business.

A Business Plan is a comprehensive document outlining a company's strategy, goals, and financial projections.

A Cap Table is a document that outlines the ownership and distribution of equity in a company among its shareholders.

A co-working space is a shared office environment where individuals and startups can work together in a collaborative setting.

Crowdfunding is a method of financing projects or businesses in which a large number of people contribute small amounts of money to raise the desired capital.

In the startup world, an ecosystem refers to a comprehensive network of organizations and resources that support the development and growth of startups.

An Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) is a program that allows employees to acquire shares in the company they work for, enabling them to become partial owners and share in its success.

An Exit strategy is a plan outlining how a startup founder or investor intends to monetize their investment, often through selling the company or going public.

A Founder is an individual or a group of individuals who establish and initiate the formation of a startup company.

Freedom to Operate refers to the legal clearance or right to conduct business operations without infringing on the intellectual property rights of others.

Fundraising is the process of raising capital or funds for a startup, often from investors or through various funding sources.

The term "Hockey Stick" is often used to describe the sudden and exponential growth of metrics or data that resembles a hockey stick in a chart or report.

Infrastructure as a Service is a Cloud computing model that provides access to virtualized computing resources such as servers or storage.

A Startup Incubator provides specialized tools, resources and support needed by early stage startups to develop their ideas, business model, or MVP.

An IPO is the process by which a private company becomes publicly traded by offering shares to the public through a stock exchange.

Intellectual Property refers to legal rights associated with intangible creations of the human mind, such as patents, copyrights, and trademarks.

A Key Performance Indicator is a quantifiable Measurement used to Identify a company's performance within a specific objective.

A Lean Startup is a company or business idea that applies the principles of the Lean approach to grow efficiently and adapt to changing market needs.

A Licensing agreement is a legal contract that permits one party to use another's parties intellectual property under specific terms and conditions.

Liquidity is the Availability of Liquid Assets such as Cash or Bank Balance to meet short-term business obligations.

A Letter of Intent is a nonbinding document declaring the interest of one party doing business with another party.

A Market Entry Strategy is a plan that outlines how a company intends to enter and establish its presence in a new market or industry.

Market Research involves the systematic collection and analysis of data to gain insight into market trends, consumer behavior, and competition.

A visual representation of a product's design that showcases how the finished, functional is intended to look.

An MVP is the most basic version of a product or service that is developed and launched to test its viability in the market and gather user feedback.

An NDA is a legal contract that outlines confidentiality obligations, preventing the disclosure of sensitive information to third parties

Open Source refers to software or projects that are made freely available to anyone to use, modify, and distribute, often with a focus on collaboration and transparency.

Platform as a Service is a cloud-computing model, where a third-party provider delivers hardware and software tools to users over the internet.

A Pitch is a brief and persuasive presentation of a business idea or startup to potential investors or partners.

A pitching competition is an event where startups or entrepreneurs present their business ideas to a panel of judges or investors, often in a competitive format.

A pivot is a strategic change in a startup's direction or business model, in response to market feedback or changing circumstances.

Pre-seed is the earliest stage of funding for startups, typically used for initial product development and market research.

A priority claim is a declaration in a patent application indicating that the invention was previously filed in another country, establishing the priority date for patent rights.

A priority date is the date when a patent application is first filed, establishing the earliest possible date for patent rights.

Problem Solution Fit describes the stage in product development where a company establishes a clear alignment between the problem it has identified and the proposed solution.

Product Market Fit refers to the stage where a product or service has been successfully introduced to the market and is resonating with a large and satisfied customer base.

A prototype is a working model or preliminary version of a product used to test and refine its design and functionality.

Software as a Service is a software distribution model in which a cloud provider hosts applications and makes them available to end users over the Internet.

Scalability is the ability of a product, service, or business model to grow and adapt efficiently as demand increases.

Seed is the initial round of funding for startups, often used to develop and launch a product or service.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing a website or online content to improve its visibility in search engine results.

Series A, B, and C represent successive funding rounds in a startup growth journey, each aimed at financing specific stages of development and expansion.

Your Goals should always be formulated as Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely.

A Spin-off is a new company or venture that is created from an existing organization or research institution, often to commercialize specific technologies or innovations.

These terms refer to the analysis of market potential for a product or service. TAM (Total Addressable Market) is the total market, SAM (Serviceable Addressable Market)is the market a company can realistically serve, and SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market)is the market share a company can actually attain.

Technology Transfer is the process of sharing or licensing technology or intellectual property from one entity to another for commercialization or further development.

A Trade Secret is confidential information, such as formulas, processes, or customer lists, that provides a business with a competitive advantage and is legally protected.

Value Propositions are the unique benefits or value that a product or service offers to a customer, setting it apart from the competition.

Venture Capital refers to investments made by venture capitalists in startups or high-growth potential companies to promote their growth and development.

Vesting refers to the process by which employees gradually gain ownership of their stock options or employee equity, typically over a specific period or upon reaching certain performance milestones.