Startup Fundraising Glossary

Navigate the world of startup financing with confidence

Explore a glossary of essential terms in startups, startup fundraising, bootstrapping and entrepreneurship. Decode the terminology and jargon with ease.

  • Investor Engagement

    Investor Engagement is the process of actively communicating and interacting with current and potential investors to maintain their interest, support, and investment in the startup.

  • Investor Feedback Loop

    Investor Feedback Loop is a continuous communication channel between a startup and its investors, facilitating the exchange of feedback, progress updates, and strategic advice to enhance business outcomes.

  • Investor Matching

    Investor Matching involves connecting startups with potential investors who have an interest in their sector or type of business, facilitating funding opportunities.

  • Investor Outreach Program

    Investor Outreach Program is a strategic effort by startups to connect with potential investors, share their business proposition, and secure funding, often involving targeted communications and pitch events.

  • Investor Pitch

    Investor Pitch is a presentation made by a startup to potential investors, detailing the business concept, market potential, financial projections, and team, aiming to secure investment.

  • Investor Pitch Deck

    Investor Pitch Deck is a brief presentation created by startups to provide potential investors with a quick overview of the business plan, team, and financials.

  • Investor Relations Strategy

    Investor Relations Strategy is a planned approach for managing a startup`s interactions with investors, analysts, and the financial community, aiming to secure and maintain investment through clear communication.

  • Investor Syndication

    Investor Syndication is the formation of a group of investors who pool their resources to fund a startup, sharing the risk and rewards of the investment.

  • Iterative Design

    Iterative Design is a methodology where a product or service is continuously improved through a cycle of testing, feedback, and redesign.

  • Iterative Development

    Iterative Development is a process of developing software or products where the work is systematically divided into smaller sections, allowing for adjustments and refinements based on feedback after each iteration.

  • Iterative Feedback

    Iterative Feedback is the continuous process of receiving and implementing feedback to refine a product, service, or business model.

  • Iterative Launch

    Iterative Launch is a strategy where a startup releases its product or service in stages, allowing for feedback and improvements at each step, ensuring a more refined final offering.

  • Joint Marketing

    Joint Marketing is a collaborative effort between a startup and one or more partners to promote complementary products or services, leveraging each other`s resources to expand market reach and customer base.

  • Joint Product Development

    Joint Product Development involves collaborating with other businesses or entities to create new products or services, combining resources and expertise to innovate and reduce time to market.

  • Joint Venture

    A Joint Venture is a business arrangement where two or more parties agree to pool their resources for the purpose of accomplishing a specific task or project, often seen in startups looking to expand capabilities or enter new markets.

  • Journalist Outreach

    Journalist Outreach involves engaging with media professionals to secure coverage for a startup`s news, developments, or achievements, aiming to enhance brand visibility and credibility.

  • Journalistic Coverage

    Journalistic Coverage refers to the media and press attention a startup receives, which can significantly impact its brand visibility, credibility, and ability to attract customers and investors.

  • Journey Customer Feedback

    Journey Customer Feedback involves collecting insights from customers at various points in their journey with a product or service, helping startups to refine user experience and product offerings.

  • Journey Mapping

    Journey Mapping is the process of creating a visual representation of a customer`s experience with a product or service from initial contact through engagement and long-term relationship, helping startups identify improvement areas.

  • Jumpstart Funding

    Jumpstart Funding is an initial financial support given to startups to help them launch their operations, often provided by angel investors, venture capitalists, or through crowdfunding campaigns.

  • Kanban for Startups

    Kanban for Startups applies the Kanban methodology to manage tasks and workflows efficiently in the startup environment, optimizing team collaboration and project management to accelerate development and attract funding.

  • Key Investor Engagement

    Key Investor Engagement refers to the strategic interaction and relationship building with principal investors or stakeholders, crucial for securing ongoing support and additional funding rounds.

  • Key Investor Relations

    Key Investor Relations encompasses the strategies and practices employed to communicate and build relationships with major investors, aiming to maintain their support and secure future funding rounds.

  • Key Investors

    Key Investors are principal individuals or entities that provide significant financial backing to a startup, often playing a crucial role in its initial and ongoing funding stages.

  • Key Market Expansion

    Key Market Expansion is the strategic growth into new geographic or demographic markets, essential for startups looking to scale operations and increase their appeal to a broader range of investors.

  • Key Milestones

    Key Milestones are significant achievements or goals that a startup aims to reach within its development timeline, often used as benchmarks in fundraising pitches to demonstrate progress to investors.

  • Keyword Optimization for SEO

    Keyword Optimization for SEO is the process of identifying and implementing the most relevant and effective keywords in a startup`s online content to improve search engine rankings and visibility, attracting potential investors.

  • Kickoff Funding Rounds

    Kickoff Funding Rounds are the initial rounds of financing undertaken by a startup to raise the necessary capital to begin operations, often involving seed funding from angel investors or venture capitalists.

  • Kickoff Investments

    Kickoff Investments are the initial funds secured by a startup, often from angel investors or early-stage venture capitalists, to launch operations and begin scaling.

  • Kickoff Seed Capital

    Kickoff Seed Capital is the initial funding used to start a business, typically provided by angel investors, friends, family, or the founders themselves to cover preliminary expenses before generating revenue.

  • Kickoff Seed Funding

    Kickoff Seed Funding is the initial capital raised by a startup to fund its early operations, often from angel investors, friends, and family, critical for transitioning from concept to early-stage product development.

  • Know Your Investor (KYI)

    Know Your Investor (KYI) is a due diligence principle that encourages startups to understand the background, objectives, and investment strategies of potential investors to ensure alignment of interests and long-term partnership potential.

  • KPI Analysis

    KPI Analysis is the process of evaluating key performance indicators to understand a startup`s operational efficiency, financial stability, and growth potential, often used in investor reports and pitches.

  • KPI-driven Fundraising

    KPI-driven Fundraising is a strategy that emphasizes achieving and presenting specific Key Performance Indicators to potential investors to demonstrate the startup`s growth potential and operational efficiency.

  • KYC Compliance

    KYC Compliance involves adhering to `Know Your Customer` regulations, which is crucial for startups in financial sectors to prevent fraud and build trust with investors by verifying the identity of their clients.

  • Landing Page

    A Landing Page is a single web page that appears in response to clicking on a search engine optimized search result, marketing promotion, marketing email, or an online advertisement.

  • Late Stage

    The Late Stage is a phase of a startup where it has established products, revenue, and seeks further growth funding.

  • Lead Generation

    Lead Generation is the initiation of consumer interest or inquiry into products or services of a business.

  • Lead Investor

    A Lead Investor is an individual or entity that organizes and leads a round of financing, often contributing a significant portion of the capital and setting terms for the round.

  • Lean Startup

    The Lean Startup is a methodology for developing businesses and products that aims to shorten product development cycles by adopting a combination of business-hypothesis-driven experimentation, iterative product releases, and validated learning.

  • Lifetime Value (LTV)

    The Lifetime Value (LTV) is the projected revenue that a customer will generate during their lifetime.

  • Liquidation Preference

    Liquidation Preference is a provision that determines the payout order in case of a sale, dissolution, or liquidation of the company.

  • Liquidity

    Liquidity is the ease with which an asset, or security, can be converted into ready cash without affecting its market price.

  • Liquidity Event

    A Liquidity Event is an event that allows early investors in a company to sell their shares, often through an IPO or acquisition.

  • Liquidity Preference

    Liquidity Preference is the terms that specify which investors get paid first and how much they get paid in a liquidity event.

  • LP (Limited Partner)

    An LP (Limited Partner) is an investor in a limited partnership who is not involved in the day-to-day management of the partnership and whose liability is limited to the amount of their investment.

  • LTV/CAC Ratio

    The LTV/CAC Ratio is a metric used to measure the relationship between the lifetime value of a customer (LTV) and the cost of acquiring a customer (CAC).

  • Majority Shareholder

    A Majority Shareholder is an individual or entity that owns more than 50% of a company`s shares of stock.

  • Market Analysis

    Market Analysis is the examination of the market for a product or service, including demand, competition, and potential sales.

  • Market Demand

    Market Demand is the total demand for a product or service in the market.