Beachhead market
A beachhead market is the small, specific first segment you set out to dominate before expanding. Its customers share the same problem, talk to each other, and can be reached through the same channels.
Read more →Glossary
Startup glossary
The terms every founder hears, explained in plain language. Each entry shows a real example, the mistake to avoid, and how to work it out for your own business.
B
Burn rate
Burn rate is how much cash your company spends each month. Gross burn is total monthly spending. Net burn is spending minus the cash that comes in.
Read more →C
Cap table
A cap table (capitalization table) is a record of who owns what in your company: founders, employees, investors and option pools, with their shares and ownership percentages.
Read more →Churn rate
Churn rate is the percentage of customers, or revenue, you lose over a period, usually measured monthly.
Read more →Competitive analysis
A competitive analysis maps every option your customer could choose instead of you: direct competitors, solutions from other categories, workarounds, and doing nothing. It shows where alternatives fall short and where you can win.
Read more →Customer acquisition cost (CAC)
Customer acquisition cost (CAC) is the average amount you spend on sales and marketing to win one new paying customer over a given period.
Read more →Customer discovery
Customer discovery is the process of talking to potential customers to learn their problems, current behavior and buying triggers before and while you build, so you base decisions on evidence instead of assumptions.
Read more →E
Elevator pitch
An elevator pitch is a 30 to 60 second explanation of what your company does, for whom, and why it matters, short enough to deliver in a brief conversation and clear enough to be repeated.
Read more →Equity dilution
Equity dilution is the reduction in your ownership percentage when your company issues new shares, for example to investors, employees or an option pool.
Read more →F
Founder-market fit
Founder-market fit is how well a founder's experience, insight and network match the market they are building for. It makes it more likely they understand the problem and can reach the first customers.
Read more →G
Go-to-market strategy
A go-to-market strategy is your plan for which customers you reach first, through which channels, with what offer, and in what order. It turns a good product into repeatable sales.
Read more →I
Ideal customer profile (ICP)
An ideal customer profile (ICP) is a specific description of the customer who gets the most value from your product: the one most likely to buy quickly, stay long, and refer others.
Read more →J
Jobs to be done
Jobs to be done is a way of understanding customers by the progress they are trying to make. People "hire" a product to get a job done in a specific situation, and they fire it when something does that job better.
Read more →L
Lifetime value (LTV)
Lifetime value (LTV) is the total gross profit you expect to earn from an average customer over the whole time they stay with you.
Read more →M
Messaging framework
A messaging framework is a structured document that sets out what you say to customers: your core message, the problems you solve, proof points and the words to use, so every page, pitch and post tells the same story.
Read more →Minimum viable product (MVP)
A minimum viable product (MVP) is the smallest version of your product that lets real customers get the core result, so you can learn whether they will use it and pay for it.
Read more →N
North Star metric
A North Star metric is the single number that best captures the value customers get from your product. When it grows, the business usually grows too.
Read more →O
OKRs
OKRs (objectives and key results) are a goal-setting method: an objective states what you want to achieve, and 2 to 4 measurable key results define how you will know you got there.
Read more →P
Pitch deck
A pitch deck is a short presentation, usually 10 to 15 slides, that explains your problem, solution, market, traction, team and ask, so investors can decide quickly whether to take a meeting or invest.
Read more →Positioning statement
A positioning statement is an internal sentence that defines who your product is for, what category it competes in, what makes it different, and which alternative it beats. It guides decisions. It is not a tagline.
Read more →Pre-seed funding
Pre-seed funding is the first outside money a startup raises, usually from angels, friends and family or small funds, to go from idea or prototype to first proof that customers want it.
Read more →Pricing strategy
A pricing strategy is your approach to setting prices: what you charge, how you package it and how price reflects the value customers get, based on cost, competitors or customer value.
Read more →Problem statement
A problem statement is a short, specific description of who has a problem, what the problem is, when it happens and what it costs them. It keeps the team focused on the customer's pain, not on a solution.
Read more →Product-market fit
Product-market fit is the point where a clearly defined group of customers buys your product, keeps using it, and recommends it, without you having to push. Demand starts to pull instead of you pushing.
Read more →R
Revenue model
A revenue model describes how your company makes money: who pays, for what, how often and how the price is set, for example subscriptions, usage fees, transaction fees or one-time sales.
Read more →Runway
Runway is the number of months your company can keep operating before it runs out of cash, at its current net burn rate.
Read more →S
SAFE note
A SAFE note (simple agreement for future equity) is an investment contract where an investor gives money now and receives shares later, usually at the next priced round, often with a valuation cap or discount.
Read more →T
TAM, SAM, SOM
TAM, SAM and SOM size your market in three steps. TAM is the total revenue if every possible customer bought. SAM is the part you can reach today. SOM is the part you can realistically win in the next one to two years.
Read more →V
Value proposition
A value proposition is a clear statement of the result a customer gets from you, why they can believe it, how quickly it happens, and how much effort it takes. It explains why someone should choose you.
Read more →Related tools
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