STARTER SPEAK GLOSSARY

Vision: What do you imagine?

Innovation: How do you imagine your vision working?

Creativity and Imagination: Intelligence having fun (Albert Einstein)

Ideation: Brainstorming

Pain Point: What problem needs solving?

Value Proposition: What problem does your idea solve?

Mission: A written declaration of your company’s core purpose

Purpose: What is the meaning of your company in the world

Feedback: Response from others in answer to your questions

Industry Analysis: Research on the industry your business is in.

Market Opportunity: How does your business fit into the industry, and how does it serve consumers?

White Space: An empty space for your business to fill in the industry and in the greater market.

Network: The group of people you know who can help you develop your business.

Business Plan: The outline you will write to help others understand your vision for your business, and how it works in the world.

Iteration: Changes to your plan that move it forward.

B to B: Business to Business: relates to your target audience and how you make money. Does your company serve other businesses?

B to C: Business to Consumer: relates to your target audience and how you make money. Does your company serve consumers?

Spreadsheet: an Excel Worksheet that helps organize data you collect.

Elevator Pitch: Your vision, its mission and purpose, articulated in 30 seconds or less

Market Research: Research you conduct to support your business’ value

Feedback Loop: The exchange of feedback and how it affects the business you are building.

Primary Research: The obvious, direct impact research that tells you key things about your business and the market you are entering.

Secondary Research: The next level of research which helps you answer less obvious, but important questions for your business’ growth.

Data Analysis: How you understand the research you have conducted as it applies to your business.

Synthesis: How you connect that understanding of the research you have conducted to the actual build of your business.

Scale: The potential for your business’ growth.

Pivot: A change in direction for your business.

Operating Agreement: Legal Document that supports the way your company operates

Corporate Organization: Is your company an LLC or a Corporation?

LLC: Limited Liability Corporation

Corporation: A company in which you have shares and for which you have a board

Trademark: Helps to protect your vision and company mission

Equity: The Shares that represent the investment in your company

Shares: The value of that equity

Shareholders: Investors

Executive Team: The leaders of your company

Early Employees: Employees that join your business early in its formation, who are sometimes granted profit shares in your business.

Board of Advisors: The advisors to your company

Financial Model: the spreadsheet that shows expenses, income, cash flow, and a balance sheet for your company over a 3- 5 year period

Assumptions: Best guesses on expenses, income, and cash flow.

Pro-forma: The summary of expenses and income for each year that you have modeled. You use this in your investor power point presentation.

Capital: The money you use to build your business

Cap Table: The current value of your business and how many shareholders are invested.

Prototype: a tangible example of the product of your business.

Assets: The items of value that generate the business of your company.

Liabilities: your company’s debt

CAPEX: The business building block items on which you expend capital.

COGS: the cost of goods sold

EBITDA: Earnings before interest, taxes, debt are adjusted

P/L: Profit and Loss

Exit: What happens for your shareholders and for your founders when you sell your company.