When a new product launched on the market generates non-trivial revenue and growth, therefore proving that there was a demand for that innovation. Product-market fit (PMF) is the first major milestone of every startup.

A Proof of Concept (POC) is a preliminary demonstration or experiment conducted to determine the feasibility and viability of an idea, concept, or technology. It is a crucial step in the early stages of a project, product development, or innovation process. The primary purpose of a POC is to assess whether a concept or solution can be practically implemented and whether it will perform as expected.

PPC affords businesses the opportunity to advertise within the sponsored listings of a search engine or a partner site by paying either each time their ad is clicked.

PaaS (platform-as-a-service) is a form of cloud computing that enables software developers to build, run, and manage software applications easily, without worrying about underlying infrastructure

A pitch deck is a presentation that covers all aspects of your business and it's revenue model, targeted at generating investment from Angels, VCs etcetera.

The act of using experience and existing resources to transform a failed product or service into a successful one.

A startup with a valuation of more than $10 million.

A company that has received an investment from a VC fund or Angel becomes a portfolio company of that fund/person.

Brand positioning refers to the unique position that a brand occupies in the minds of its target customers. It is the way a brand differentiates itself from its competitors and communicates its value proposition to its target audience.

Similar to debt funding, this occurs when a firm borrows money after the IPO and must pay it back within a set timeframe with interest.

Occurs when a firm invests in a company after the IPO is complete.

The approximate market value given to a startup after a round of financing from angel investors or venture capitalists has been completed. The post-money valuation is equal to the pre-money valuation plus the amount invested.

This stage typically refers to the period in which a company's founders are first getting their operations off the ground, and is often funded by the founders themselves (or friends and family) to cover the costs of launching operations or developing an minimum viable product (MVP).

Pre-money valuation refers to the value of a startup not including external funding/investment. How much a startup is worth before it begins to receive any investments.

Type of stock that comes with special privileges that is given to VCs to mitigate their investment risk.

Funding round where investors purchase newly issued stock in a company at an agreed-upon price per share. The price per share is determined by the valuation.

Private equity is composed of funds - capital that is not listed on a public exchange - that is directly invested in private companies. Investors utilise private equity (PE) funds to earn returns that are better than what can be achieved in public equity markets or standard savings mechanisms.

A product manager is the person who identifies the customer need and the larger business objectives that a product or feature will fulfill, articulates the product vision and often manages the team building the product.

A specialism within marketing, product marketing is the process of bringing a product to market. This includes deciding the product's positioning and messaging, launch strategy, and ensuring potential users understand the value of the product feature set, with a view to increasing demand.

A product roadmap is a high-level visual summary that maps out the vision and direction of your product offering, generally focusing on features and the benefits to users. Some companies choose to make the roadmap public.

An initial model of an object built to test a design. This allows the startup to see if the concept can be viable before building and launching at scale.

An advanced and rapidly emerging technology that harnesses the principles of quantum mechanics to perform computational tasks that are fundamentally impossible or highly impractical for classical computers. Quantum computers are designed to leverage the unique properties of quantum bits, or qubits, to perform complex calculations and solve problems more efficiently in certain domains.

The process by which companies innovate and improve their existing offerings and/or introduce new products and services to the market.

R&D managers are responsible for leading teams of researchers and developers to create new products and improve existing ones. They work closely with the CTO to develop and implement the company's technical strategy. The key difference between R&D managers and CTOs is that R&D managers are more focused on the day-to-day management of research and development teams, while CTOs have a broader responsibility for the company's overall technology strategy.

The money an investor in a business earns for their investment of capital into the company. Any return is from the net profit the business makes. A good ROI is considered 7% or greater.

Referral marketing is a marketing tactic that makes use of recommendations and word of mouth to grow a business's customer base through the networks of its existing customers.

The rate at which the startup retains its users or customers. This signifies higher levels of customer loyalty, increased revenue generation, and higher levels of customer satisfaction. Retention is a leading indicator of Product-Market Fit. Retention is often measured with its opposite concept of "churn".

The total amount of money that is generated before expenses.

The period of time that the startup can remain in business, given the current amount of funding. It is also imperative for the startup as it helps determine the budgeting, strategizing, forecasting, and fundraising throughout the startup lifecycle

A type of convertible security. They are documents that early-stage companies use to help raise pre-seed or seed capital. This note acts as a legally binding promise to allow an investor to purchase a specified number of shares for an agreed-upon price at some point in the future. SAFE notes are quick and cheap to set up, so they are usually preferred for smaller rounds.

A term used in business and marketing to describe the portion of the Total Addressable Market (TAM) that a company or business can realistically serve and target with its products or services. SAM represents the subset of the broader market that is both accessible and within the company's reach. Understanding SAM is important for businesses to focus their marketing and sales efforts effectively.

a set of software tools and programs in one installable package. Also known as a devkit, that software companies provide to developers to build applications for specific platforms. SDKs tend to include building blocks, debuggers, and a code framework specific to an operating system (OS).

The process of improving a website to increase its visibility in search engines for relevant search queries, usually with a focus on user experience, crawlability, indexability and content relevance.

A service-level agreement (SLA) sets the expectations between the service provider and the customer and describes the products or services to be delivered, the single point of contact for end-user problems, and the metrics by which the effectiveness of the process is monitored and approved.

Sales-led growth is a growth approach where the sales team and sales processes are the primary driver of customer acquisition, and is often used to generate quick or short-term revenue to aid in the growth of the business. Most commonly compared with Product Led Growth.

SOM is the portion of SAM that you can capture.

Special purpose acquisition company. A SPAC raises capital through an initial public offering (IPO) for the purpose of acquiring an existing operating company.

SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis is a framework used to evaluate a company's competitive position and to develop strategic planning. SWOT analysis assesses internal and external factors, as well as current and future potential. A SWOT analysis is designed to facilitate a realistic, fact-based, data-driven look at the strengths and weaknesses of an organization, initiatives, or within its industry. The

SaaS is a software licensing and delivery model in which software is licensed on a subscription basis and is centrally hosted, usually cloud-based.

Once a startup reaches the growth phase, it is generally referred to as a scale-up. "A company who has an average annualized return of at least 20% in the past 3 years with at least 10 employees in the beginning of the period (OECD, 2007)"

The ability for the startup to grow without being impeded. This often requires capital, planning, the right systems in place, partners, technology, and processes. Scaling usually happens after Product-Market Fit.

An agile project management methodology that focuses on pivots, execution, and speed. It is designed to help small teams build complex products.

The process where private company stock is sold to another private party (rather than selling directly to investors).

All types of equity or debt.

Seed funding is the first official equity funding stage. It typically represents the first institutional money that a startup raises. Some VCs or Angels specialise in Seed funding, usually expecting a higher equity stake to account for the increased risk or early stage businesses.

A shareholders' agreement is an agreement entered into between all or some of the shareholders in a startup. It regulates the relationship between the shareholders, the management of the company, ownership of the shares and the protection of the shareholders.

Value brought by an investor that goes beyond a check. This includes connections, time, and guidance, which is usually provided by the investor to the founders.

Soft skills, often referred to as interpersonal or people skills, are non-technical skills that relate to how you interact with others, communicate, and work in a team. They are essential in both personal and professional settings. Here are some key soft skills: Communication Skills, Adaptability, Problem Solving, Critical Thinking, Creativity, Time Management, Leadership, Stress Management, Emotional Intelligence, Conflict Resolution, Networking, Customer Service, Negotiation, Presentation Skills

An entrepreneur who starts and grows a business alone.

An expression originally used to describe all the technology services used to build and run one single application, now used more generically as a collection of technologies and tools used by a business to fulfil a certain function.