A Guide To Acronyms In The Startup World

These acronyms and terms are commonly used in the startup world to measure and communicate various aspects of a business’s performance and growth. Understanding these terms can be important for entrepreneurs, investors, and other stakeholders in the startup ecosystem to effectively evaluate and communicate the potential of a startup. By knowing and utilizing these terms, stakeholders can gain a better understanding of a startup’s market, revenue potential, customer acquisition costs, and overall performance, which can be helpful in making strategic decisions and investments.

1. ACV: Annual Contract Value – a metric that measures the total value of a customer’s annual contract with a company.
2. LTV: Customer Lifetime Value – a prediction of the total revenue that a customer will generate for a business over the course of their lifetime.
3. CAC: Customer Acquisition Cost – a metric that measures the total cost of acquiring a new customer.
4. MRR: Monthly Recurring Revenue – a metric that measures the predictable and recurring revenue generated by a company’s customers on a monthly basis.
5. ROI: Return on Investment – a performance metric used to evaluate the efficiency and profitability of an investment.
6. MVP: Minimum Viable Product – a product with enough features to satisfy early customers and gather feedback for future product development.
7. Seed Round: The first stage of funding for a startup, usually provided by angel investors or venture capitalists.
8. Burn Rate: The rate at which a company is spending its available funds.
9. Runway: The amount of time a company has before it runs out of cash based on its current burn rate.
10. Pivot: A change in a startup’s business model, product, or target market.
11. Churn Rate: The rate at which a company loses customers over a given period of time.
12. Growth Hacking: A marketing strategy that focuses on rapid experimentation and testing to identify the most effective ways to grow a business.
13. Bootstrap: A startup that is self-funded and does not rely on outside investment.
14. Unicorn: A startup with a valuation of over $1 billion.
15. Exit: A liquidity event for investors, such as an initial public offering (IPO) or acquisition, that allows them to sell their shares in the company.
16. Angel Investor: A high net worth individual who invests their own money in startups in exchange for equity.
17. Venture Capitalist (VC): An investor who provides funding to startups in exchange for equity and a say in the company’s management.
18. Pitch Deck: A presentation used by startups to pitch their business to investors.
19. Incubator: A program or organization that provides resources and support for startups in the early stages of development.
20. Accelerator: A program or organization that provides mentorship, funding, and resources to startups to help them grow and scale quickly.
21. TAM: Total Addressable Market – the total market demand for a product or service.
22. SAM: Serviceable Available Market – the segment of the total addressable market that a company can realistically target.
23. SOM: Serviceable Obtainable Market – the portion of the serviceable available market that a company can realistically capture.
24. ARR: Annual Recurring Revenue – the predictable and recurring revenue generated by a company’s customers on an annual basis.
25. CPM: Cost Per Thousand – a measure of how much it costs to reach 1,000 people with a marketing message or advertisement.
26. CPC: Cost Per Click – a measure of how much it costs to generate one click on a specific marketing message or advertisement.
27. CPA: Cost Per Acquisition – a measure of how much it costs to acquire one new customer.
28. KPI: Key Performance Indicator – a metric that helps a company measure progress towards its goals.
29. NPS: Net Promoter Score – a customer satisfaction metric that measures how likely customers are to recommend a product or service to others.
30. SaaS: Software as a Service – a model for delivering software applications over the internet on a subscription basis.
31. B2B: Business to Business – a business model where a company sells products or services to other businesses.
32. B2C: Business to Consumer – a business model where a company sells products or services directly to consumers.
33. API: Application Programming Interface – a set of protocols and tools for building software applications.
34. UX: User Experience – the overall experience that a user has when interacting with a product or service.
35. UI: User Interface – the visual and interactive elements of a product or service that allow users to interact with it.
36. TCV stands for Total Contract Value, which is the total amount of revenue that a company can expect to generate from a customer over the entire duration of a contract or agreement. This includes all fees, charges, and recurring payments associated with the contract, and is often used to measure the total value of a company’s customer relationships. TCV can be used as a metric to evaluate a company’s overall revenue potential, and is often used in sales forecasting and revenue planning.