A go-to-market (GTM) strategy is a step-by-step plan designed to successfully launch a product or service to market.

Through gamification, a startup can add a game-layer to a product or service that encourages users (via Motivation Theory) to take a specific action in exchange for a reward.

A manager at a VC fund. They sit at the top of the VC job pyramid.

An award (often financial) that is given by one entity to another in order to help them facilitate a goal. For example, governments and large corporations usually run grant programs to support startups and innovative companies.

Growth hacking is a catch-all term for strategies focused solely on growth (revenue or users). It is generally used in relation to startups who require substantial growth in a short period of time on relatively small budgets. Read more.

A hackathon is an event that brings together people and creates a collaborative environment for solving a certain problem. The word hackathon is a combination of "hack" and "marathon." So, essentially it's a marathon for hackers.

Hard skills are technical skills required for a job. They are learned abilities acquired and enhanced through education and experience.

A startup with a valuation of over $100 billion.

A term use to represent a growth chart/graph showing sudden and exponential growth.

Hype in startups refers to the excessive or exaggerated promotion and excitement surrounding a new startup company, product, or service. It often involves creating a buzz or generating a lot of attention and anticipation, sometimes through marketing tactics, media coverage, or social media campaigns

Gartner’s Hype Cycle is a graphical depiction of a common pattern that arises with each new technology or other innovation. Each year, Gartner creates more than 90 Hype Cycles in various domains as a way for clients to track technology maturity and future potential. The five phases in the Hype Cycle are Technology Trigger, Peak of Inflated Expectations, Trough of Disillusionment, Slope of Enlightenment and Plateau of Productivity.

The cryptocurrency equivalent to an IPO. A startup looking to raise funds to create a service, app, or coin can use an ICO to raise funds.

An Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) represents the types of companies that need your product enough that they would pay for it. Your ICP will need to include personas for your user and your buyer. A user represents the direct consumer of your solution, and a buyer represents the person with the influence and authority to make a purchasing decision.

The internet of things, or IoT, is a network of interrelated devices that connect and exchange data with other IoT devices and the cloud. IoT devices are typically embedded with technology such as sensors and software and can include mechanical and digital machines and consumer objects.

A category of property that can be legally protected. Types of IP include patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets.

Information technology (IT) is a broad professional category covering functions including building communications networks, safeguarding data and information, and troubleshooting computer problems.

An undertaking by a firm or organization established by a social entrepreneur that seeks to provide systemic solutions to achieve a sustainable, social objective. These are often mission-driven.

Resources besides money (i.e. mentorship, connections, service, or supplies).

Incremental innovation is a series of small improvements or upgrades made to a company's existing products, services, processes or methods. The changes implemented through incremental innovation are usually focused on improving an existing product's development efficiency, productivity and competitive differentiation.

The concept of integrating smart manufacturing machinery, AI-powered automation, and advanced analytics to help workers and factories become more efficient.

Innovation refers to the process of introducing new ideas, methods, products, or services that bring about significant improvements, advancements, or changes in various aspects of life, business, technology, or society as a whole. It involves the creative application of knowledge, resources, and technology to solve problems, meet needs, or seize opportunities.

An employee of a large corporation who is given, or taken, the freedom and financial support to create new products, services, systems, etc., within the corporation, yet does not have to follow the corporation's usual routines or protocols.

A group of investors that agree to participate in an investment round of funding for a startup.

Key performance indicators. These show the progress of a startup and highlight areas that need improvement.

It describes the process of verifying the identity of (new) customers. The KYC process is performed to prevent illegal activities such as money laundering or fraud, in return protecting both company and client.

This is the amount a startup can expect to earn from a customer during the time they are with the company.

In marketing, a landing page is traditionally a standalone web page created for a specific advertising campaign. The term is now used more broadly to include any transactional or marketing-focussed web pages.

An investor that organizes the funding round and invests the largest amount of capital in that round.

Lean Canvas is a 1-page business plan template created by Ash Maurya that helps you deconstruct your idea into its key assumptions. It is adapted from Alex Osterwalder's Business Model Canvas and optimized for Lean Startups.

Lean Startup is a methodology and approach to building and launching businesses, products, or services with the goal of minimizing waste, maximizing efficiency, and increasing the chances of success. It was developed by Eric Ries and is particularly popular in the entrepreneurial and startup communities

A business arrangement where a company sells the right to use their IP to another company to use its brand (trademark), copyrights, or a specific technology, usually patented or protected by trade secrets.

An investor in a VC firm who provides capital yet has nothing to do with the day-to-day operations. Limited partners may be institutionals (endowments, pension funds...) or private entities (HNWI, family offices...).

An event that allows founders and early investors in a company to cash out some or all of their ownership shares. This is often the result of an acquisition, merger, or IPO.

Monthly recurring revenue is predictable income that a business receives each month. Often a key metric in SaaS or subscription based models.

A minimum viable product (MVP) is a version of a product with enough features to be usable by early customers, used to validate a business or product idea. These customers then provide feedback for future product development.

Machine Learning is a subfield of artificial intelligence (AI) and computer science that focuses on the development of algorithms and models that enable computer systems to learn and make predictions or decisions without being explicitly programmed. Machine learning algorithms use data to identify patterns, make predictions, and improve their performance over time

The percentage of a total market that your startup will win as customers, within a given timefame.

Marketing automation is the process of using software to automate marketing activities. Most commonly used for email, automation put simply is using triggers to begin specific actions. For example, when a user signs up for a newsletter they receive at automated welcome email.

Money which is spent directly on advertising (paid search, paid social, display advertising etc) as opposed to fees charged my marketing agencies or other associated costs.

The metaverse is the emerging 3-D-enabled digital space that uses virtual reality, augmented reality, and other advanced internet and semiconductor technology to allow people to have lifelike personal and business experiences online.

A way to measure company growth via a quantifiable measure to track, monitor, and assess the success or failure of the business's processes.

Venture capital funds that focus on making smaller investments in early-stage companies, often at the seed stage. These funds often have less capital available and smaller fund sizes.

A Mind Map is an easy way to brainstorm thoughts organically without worrying about order and structure. It allows you to visually structure your ideas to help with analysis and recall.

A mockup is a visualization or design of an app, web page, or product that illustrates what the final outcome might look like. In user experience (UX) design, mockups define the purpose and intent of a design, often including visual elements such as structure, layout, color schemes, typography, and editorial copy.

The process of deriving revenue from the users of your product or service.

An ambitious and ground-breaking project where the risks and potential benefits are difficult to assess. Moonshot projects often take years to come to fruition.

A phenomenon in which the value of a product, service, or platform depends on the number of buyers, sellers, or users who leverage it. Typically, the greater the number of buyers, sellers, or users, the bigger the network effect. Examples of successful network effects include Facebook and YouTube for social media; Uber and Lyft for rideshare; and Etsy for ecommerce.

No-code development is a type of web development that allows non-programmers and programmers to create software using a graphical user interface, instead of writing code.

This helps companies define objectives and then track the outcomes. It is designed to achieve far-reaching goals in days instead of months.

stock option (also known as an equity option), gives an investor the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a stock at an agreed-upon price and date.