Startup Glossary

Every term you need to know as a founder.

MVP (Minimum Viable Product)

A product that is useful enough to serve some purpose for the customer. The key word is 'viable' — not just simple, but actually useful.

Key Insight:

Minimum refers to scope (few features), not quality (poor execution).

Product-Market Fit (PMF)

When your product satisfies a strong market demand. Users love it, growth is organic, and you can't keep up with demand.

Key Insight:

PMF is the #1 goal. Without it, nothing else matters.

Burn Rate

How much money your company spends per month. If you spend $50K/month, your burn rate is $50K.

Key Insight:

Know your burn rate. It tells you how many months you have left.

Runway

How many months you can keep operating before running out of money. $200K in bank / $50K/month = 4 months runway.

Key Insight:

More runway = more time to find PMF.

Cohort Retention

Tracking individual groups of users over time. A cohort is everyone who signed up in a specific period.

Key Insight:

Flat curves are good. Declining curves are bad. The shape matters more than the absolute number.

NRR (Net Revenue Retention)

Revenue from existing customers this period vs last period, including expansion and churn. Above 100% = existing customers spend more over time.

Key Insight:

NRR above 120% separates durable growth from leaky growth.

CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)

How much it costs to acquire one customer. Spend $1000 on marketing, get 10 customers = $100 CAC.

Key Insight:

CAC should be much lower than LTV for a sustainable business.

LTV (Lifetime Value)

How much revenue a customer generates over their entire relationship with you.

Key Insight:

LTV:CAC ratio of 3:1 or higher is healthy.

Burn Multiple

Net burn / net new ARR. Under 1.0 is strong growth efficiency.

Key Insight:

Lower burn multiple = more efficient growth.

SAFE

Simple Agreement for Future Equity. 5-page document, $0–$2K legal cost. No board seats, no shares change hands.

Key Insight:

Only two terms matter: valuation cap and discount (nobody does discounts).

Angel Investor

Someone who invests their own personal money into early-stage startups. Writes smaller checks ($20K–$50K).

Key Insight:

No qualification to be an angel — just someone with money.

Venture Capital (VC)

Investors who put money into startups in exchange for equity. Invest small amounts in many companies, hoping a few become huge.

Key Insight:

Most of their portfolio will fail. The winners pay for everything.

TAM (Total Addressable Market)

The total revenue opportunity for your product if you captured 100% of the market.

Key Insight:

A small TAM limits your ceiling. Think big.

Churn

The percentage of customers who stop using your product over a given period.

Key Insight:

Low churn is a sign of PMF. Track it obsessively.

Dilution

When you give away equity, your percentage ownership decreases.

Key Insight:

Dilution is normal. Don't avoid fundraising just because you don't want to dilute.

Cap Table

A spreadsheet showing who owns what percentage of your company.

Key Insight:

Keep your cap table clean. A messy one scares investors.

PLG (Product-Led Growth)

Growth driven by the product itself — free trials, freemium, viral mechanics.

Key Insight:

The 'aha' moment needs to happen in under 60 seconds in 2026.

AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)

Optimizing content to be cited by AI models when they generate answers, not just ranking #1 on Google.

Key Insight:

AI Overviews appear on 30–50% of queries. Optimize for citations.

Bullseye Framework

Systematic channel selection: brainstorm 19 channels, rank by promise, test three, commit to the best.

Key Insight:

One strong growth loop beats five weak experiments.

Value Equation

Writing down exactly what value your product delivers, then charging 25–50% of that value.

Key Insight:

Customer keeps ~2/3, you keep ~1/3. Both win.

You've completed the playbook.

Install Glean and start getting customers →