10 Startup Terms For you to Know

Here is a list of 10 terms with their brief definitions, to add to your vocabulary of the startup universe:

Validation:

Validation is the process of determining and proving whether your product has a market value or is of interest to a your target audience.

Scalability:

Scalability is a characteristic of a business that describes its capability to cope and perform well under an increased or expanding workload or scope. It can be referred to as growth with a repeatable model.

Accelerator:

Accelerators are organisations that work towards helping startups succeed. They focus on providing startups with mentorship, advice, investment and resources to help the startups succeed.

Bootstrapping:

Bootstrapping your startup means growing your business with little or no venture capital or outside investment. It means relying on personal savings, family & friend’s support, and revenue, to operate and expand.

SaaS:

SaaS is an abbreviation for Software-as-a-Service. It is a software licensing model, which allows access to software on subscription basis using external servers. The service allows each user to access programs via the internet, instead of having to install the software on the user’s computer.

PaaS:

PaaS is an abbreviation for Platform as a service. It is a category of cloud computing services that provides a platform allowing customers to develop, run, and manage applications without the complexity of building and maintaining the infrastructure typically associated with developing and launching an app.

Iteration:

Iteration is the process of constant improvement after developing the initial version of a product or service. Startups start to sell ‘good enough’ products and services while still working on them during iteration cycles. Iterating is the process of constantly adding the highest value features that moves it towards a complete product.

Freemium:

Freemium is the portmanteau of two words “free” and “premium”. It is a pricing strategy by which a basic product or service is provided free of charge, but money is charged for additional features, services, or goods that expand the functionality of the freely available ones.

Angel Investors:

Angel investors, also known as seed investors are early stage startup investors who provide financial backing in exchange for ownership equity in a company.

Traction:

Traction refers to having a measurable set of performance indicators in the form of popularity, customers or users that help to prove to a potential investor that your startup is on its way towards success.