Startup Glossary: 45 Commonly-Used Startup Terms You Need to Know

A go-to-market strategy is a plan outlining how a startup will introduce its product or service to target customers. It includes marketing, sales, and distribution channels, as well as tactics for customer acquisition and retention.

Growth Hacking

Growth hacking is a marketing technique focused on rapid experimentation and unconventional strategies to achieve rapid user acquisition and business growth. It often involves leveraging data, technology, and creativity to identify scalable growth opportunities.

Incubator

An incubator is an organization or facility that offers workspace, support services, and mentorship to early-stage startups. It provides resources and guidance to help startups accelerate their growth and increase their chances of success.

Intellectual Property (IP)

Intellectual Property (IP) refers to legal rights associated with intangible assets created by a startup, such as patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. Protecting IP is crucial for startups to maintain their competitive advantage and prevent unauthorized use or infringement.

KPI (Key Performance Indicator)

A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a measurable value used to evaluate the success or performance of a startup in achieving its objectives. KPIs are often aligned with strategic goals and help startups track progress and make data-driven decisions.

Lean Startup

The Lean Startup is a methodology for building and scaling startups that emphasizes rapid iteration, continuous testing of assumptions, and a focus on delivering value to customers efficiently. It helps startups minimize waste and maximize learning through validated learning and experimentation.

Lead Investor

A lead investor is an investor who takes the primary role in negotiating and structuring an investment round in a startup. They often provide credibility and signaling to other investors, helping to attract additional funding and support for the startup.

Minimum Viable Product (MVP)

The Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is the simplest version of a product that allows a startup to test its core hypotheses and gauge market demand before investing further resources in development. MVPs help startups validate their ideas and iterate based on real user feedback.

Pitch Deck

A pitch deck is a presentation used by founders to pitch their startups to potential investors. It typically includes slides that outline the problem, solution, market opportunity, business model, team, and financial projections, aiming to generate interest and secure funding.

Pivot

A pivot is a strategic redirection or adjustment made by a startup in response to feedback or changing market conditions. It’s aimed at improving product-market fit or addressing new opportunities, allowing startups to adapt and evolve their business strategy.

Product-Market Fit

Product-market fit is the degree to which a product or service satisfies the needs and demands of a specific market segment. It indicates the potential for success and growth, helping startups focus their efforts on areas with the highest market potential.

ROI (Return on Investment)

Return on Investment (ROI) is a financial metric used to evaluate the profitability of an investment relative to its cost. It’s calculated as the ratio of net profit to the initial investment, expressed as a percentage, and helps investors assess the efficiency of their capital allocation.

Run Rate

Run rate is an estimate of a startup’s future financial performance based on its current revenue and expenses over a certain period. It’s typically extrapolated to an annual figure and used to forecast growth and profitability, providing insights into the company’s financial health and trajectory.

Runway

Runway is the length of time a startup can sustain its operations before exhausting its available funding. It’s often calculated based on the burn rate and remaining cash reserves, helping startups plan and manage their runway to avoid running out of funds prematurely.

Scalability

Scalability is the ability of a startup to grow its business without a proportional increase in resources, such as personnel or infrastructure. It’s a key consideration for startups aiming for rapid growth and expansion, allowing them to scale efficiently and sustainably.

Scrum

Scrum is a framework within Agile development for managing complex projects. It involves small, self-organizing teams that work in short, fixed-length iterations called sprints, focusing on delivering incremental value and adapting to changing requirements.

Seed Funding

Seed funding is initial capital provided to a startup to support its early development and operations. It’s typically obtained from angel investors, friends, family, or incubators, and helps startups validate their ideas and achieve key milestones in preparation for future fundraising rounds.

Seed Round

The seed round is the initial round of financing for a startup, typically involving angel investors, venture capital firms, or seed-stage funds. It provides capital to support early development and market validation, laying the foundation for future growth and fundraising efforts.

Series A/B/C Funding

Series A, B, and C funding are successive rounds of investment secured by a startup after the initial seed funding. Each round typically involves larger amounts of capital and is often led by venture capital firms, providing the startup with resources to scale and expand its operations.

Series D/E/F Funding

Series D, E, and F funding are subsequent rounds of financing beyond Series C funding. They are often pursued by startups as they scale and expand their operations, with the aim of raising larger amounts of capital to support growth and achieve strategic objectives.

Startup

A startup is a young company founded by one or more entrepreneurs to develop a unique product or service and bring it to market. Startups are characterized by innovation, agility, and a focus on growth, often operating in fast-paced and dynamic environments.