Welcome to The Startup Dictionary for Beginners, a comprehensive guide to the terminology and jargon commonly used in the exciting world of startups. Whether you are an aspiring entrepreneur or just curious about the startup ecosystem, this dictionary will help you understand the terminology and navigate this innovative space.
Angel Investor: An individual who provides capital to startups in exchange for ownership equity or convertible debt. Angel investors often mentor and support the entrepreneurs they invest in.
A business incubator: An organization or program that supports the growth and development of early-stage startups and entrepreneurs. It provides a nurturing environment and a range of resources and support services to help startups turn their ideas into viable businesses.
Business Accelerator: A mechanism of assistance through mentoring, investment and getting to know the right people in exchange for a share in the company. In contrast to a business incubator, they are more focused on scaling an already finished product, although sometimes during the program there is a total change of course and work on a completely different product.
Bootstrapping: A building and growing a startup with little or no external funding, relying on personal savings and revenue generated by the business.
Bottlenecks: Points or areas in a process or system where the flow of work is restricted or slowed, resulting in delays, inefficiencies, or limited throughput. Bottlenecks can occur in various areas of a business and hinder productivity, customer satisfaction and overall efficiency. Identifying and eliminating bottlenecks is critical to optimizing operations and ensuring a smooth workflow.
Burn Rate: The rate at which a startup spends its capital to cover operating expenses before generating enough revenue to sustain itself.
B2B (short for Business-to-Business): The commercial transactions and interactions that occur between two businesses rather than between a business and individual consumers. It is a form of business where one company sells products, services, or solutions to another company.
B2C (short for Business-to-Consumer): The commercial transactions and interactions that occur between a business and individual consumers. It is a form of business where companies sell products, services, or solutions directly to end-users or customers for personal consumption.
Growth driver: A factor or element that significantly contributes to the expansion, success, and sustainability of the startup. It is a key component or strategy that propels the startup forward, enabling it to achieve its growth objectives. These drivers can include factors such as market demand, customer acquisition and retention, scalable business models, strategic partnerships, innovation, funding and investment, talent acquisition, and operational efficiency.
Idea validation: A critical process that involves assessing the viability and potential of a business idea before investing significant time, effort, and resources into its execution. It helps entrepreneurs determine whether their idea has market demand, whether it solves a real problem or meets a need, and whether it is feasible from a business perspective.
Launching: A process of introducing a new business venture or product into the market. It involves officially making the startup’s offerings available to the target audience, creating awareness, generating interest, and acquiring customers.
MVP (Minimum Viable Product): The most basic version of a product that has enough features to satisfy early customers and gather feedback for further development.
Mentor: An experienced and knowledgeable individual who provides guidance, support, and advice to the founders or team members. They offer their expertise and insights based on their own entrepreneurial journey or domain expertise to help navigate the challenges and opportunities faced by the startup.
Minimum viable team: The smallest group of individuals required to effectively execute the initial stages of the business and bring the startup’s idea to life.
Networking: The process of building and nurturing relationships with individuals or organizations within the entrepreneurial ecosystem to support business growth and development. By actively engaging in networking activities, startups can expand their professional network, establish credibility, and tap into valuable support systems that can help accelerate their growth and success
Pivot: When a startup changes its business model, product, or target market to adapt to new opportunities or challenges.
Pitch: A brief 30-60 second presentation of a product designed to tell the story in a meaningful and understandable way in order to interest a useful decision maker.
Pitch deck: A presentation or slideshow that provides an overview of a startup business to potential investors, stakeholders, or partners. It is a concise and visual representation of the startup’s value proposition, market opportunity, business model, team, and growth potential.
Riskiest assumption test: A method used by startups to identify and validate the riskiest assumptions underlying their business model. It involves identifying the core assumptions on which the startup’s success depends and designing experiments or tests to gather data and evidence to validate or invalidate those assumptions.
Roadmap: A visual representation or plan that outlines the strategic direction, goals, and key activities of a project or organization over a specific period. It provides a high-level overview of the planned initiatives, milestones, and timelines that will guide the execution of the project or the growth of the organization.
Startup founder: The person who initiates and creates a new business venture. He or she plays a key role in shaping the direction, culture and success of the startup, often serving as the primary decision maker and leader in the organization.
Scalability: The ability of a startup to grow its business rapidly without a proportional increase in resources or costs
Unicorn: A startup valued at over $1 billion.
Venture capital: Investment funds provided by venture capital firms to start-ups and small businesses with high growth potential. In return, venture capital firms typically seek an equity stake.
This dictionary serves as an introductory guide to the vast and dynamic world of startups. Embrace the startup spirit, stay curious, and keep learning as you embark on the path of entrepreneurship. We look forward to seeing you at Startup Iceland Camp, which will take place from 15.09 to 17.09. 2023 at Reykjavik University.
Article by Iryna Aniri
Startup Iceland Camp 