Startup & Business Glossary

A model where you sell products or services to other businesses rather than to individuals.

A model where you sell products or services directly to individual consumers.

A model offering a free basic version to attract users, with paid upgrades for more features.

Software delivered over the internet for a recurring subscription instead of a one-time purchase.

The point where total revenue equals total costs, so the business makes neither profit nor loss.

How much cash your business spends each month beyond what it earns.

The percentage of revenue left after the direct costs of delivering your product or service.

How many months your business can keep operating before it runs out of cash.

Building a company using your own money and revenue instead of outside investment.

A record of who owns what in a company — every share, option, and ownership stake.

The reduction in your ownership percentage when a company issues new shares to investors or employees.

What a company is judged to be worth right before it takes in new investment.

The earliest outside money a startup raises, usually to build an MVP and test the idea.

An early investment round that funds a startup's search for product-market fit and early growth.

The first major priced funding round, raised to scale a business that has proven early traction.

The slice of the total market you could actually serve given your product, model, and geography.

The realistic share of your serviceable market you can actually capture in the near term.

The total revenue available if every possible customer for your product bought it from you.

The average yearly revenue from a single customer contract, normalized to one year.

The predictable subscription revenue a business expects to earn over a full year.

The average amount of revenue each active user or customer generates in a given period.

The percentage of customers or revenue you lose over a given period, usually a month or year.

Grouping customers by when they joined to see how their behavior changes over time.

The percentage of people who take a desired action out of everyone who had the chance.

The percentage of customers who stay with you over a period instead of leaving.

The total value of all goods or services sold through a marketplace over a period.

The predictable subscription revenue a business earns each month from active customers.

A simple survey score measuring how likely customers are to recommend you to others.

The single metric that best captures the core value your product delivers to customers.

The smallest version of your product that lets real users get value and prove demand.

Your plan for how you'll reach customers and sell your product when you launch.

A precise description of the customer who gets the most value and is the best fit for your product.

A one-page business plan that captures the riskiest parts of an idea in nine quick boxes.

A deliberate change in strategy — product, market, or model — while keeping what you've learned.

The point where you've built something a specific market genuinely wants and keeps coming back for.

A clear statement of the specific benefit you give a specific customer, better than the alternatives.

How long it takes for a customer's profit to repay what you spent to acquire them.

The total sales and marketing cost of getting one new paying customer.

The total profit you expect from an average customer across the whole time they stay with you.

The direct revenue and costs tied to a single customer or sale — the proof a business can make money.