Startup Dictionary

Startup Dictionary is your go-to guide for understanding startup, business, finance, and tech terms. Learn key definitions, abbreviations, and concepts explained simply for founders, students, and professionals.

👑 Leadership & Roles 10 terms
CEO—Chief Executive Officer — vision & strategy
CFO—Chief Financial Officer — finance & reporting
COO—Chief Operating Officer — daily operations
CTO—Chief Technology Officer — tech & innovation
CMO—Chief Marketing Officer — branding & growth
CHRO—Chief HR Officer — hiring & culture
CIO—Chief Information Officer — IT & security
CDO—Chief Data Officer — data strategy
CPO—Chief Product Officer — product lifecycle
Founder—Person who starts the company
💰 Finance & Investment 10 terms
VC—Venture Capital — funding for equity
PE—Private Equity — private company investment
ROI—Return on Investment
EBITDA—Core profitability metric
ARR—Annual Recurring Revenue
MRR—Monthly Recurring Revenue
CAC—Customer Acquisition Cost
LTV—Lifetime Value of a customer
IRR—Internal Rate of Return
BEP—Break-even Point
📈 Sales & Marketing 10 terms
B2B—Business to Business
B2C—Business to Consumer
D2C—Direct to Consumer
SEO—Search Engine Optimization
SEM—Search Engine Marketing
CTR—Click Through Rate
CPC—Cost Per Click
CPM—Cost Per 1,000 impressions
CPL—Cost Per Lead
CTA—Call To Action
⚙️ Operations & Management 10 terms
KPI—Key Performance Indicator
OKR—Objectives and Key Results
SOP—Standard Operating Procedure
TAT—Turnaround Time
SLA—Service Level Agreement
SCM—Supply Chain Management
ERP—Enterprise Resource Planning
CRM—Customer Relationship Management
MIS—Management Information System
QC—Quality Control
⚖️ Legal & Compliance 10 terms
NDA—Non-Disclosure Agreement
MOU—Memorandum of Understanding
GST—Goods and Services Tax
KYC—Know Your Customer
AML—Anti-Money Laundering
IPR—Intellectual Property Rights
LLP—Limited Liability Partnership
Pvt Ltd—Private Limited Company
IPO—Initial Public Offering
Compliance—Following legal requirements
💻 Tech & Digital 10 terms
SaaS—Software as a Service
PaaS—Platform as a Service
IaaS—Infrastructure as a Service
API—Application Programming Interface
UI—User Interface
UX—User Experience
AI—Artificial Intelligence
ML—Machine Learning
Big Data—Large datasets for insights
Cloud—Internet-based computing
🚀 Startup & Growth 10 terms
MVP—Minimum Viable Product
Pivot—Changing business strategy
Burn Rate—Speed of spending capital
Runway—Time before funds run out
Unicorn—Startup valued over $1B
Decacorn—Startup valued over $10B
Angel—Early-stage individual investor
Seed—Initial startup funding
Series A/B/C—Scaling funding rounds
Valuation—Estimated company worth
🛒 E-commerce & Retail 10 terms
SKU—Stock Keeping Unit
MOQ—Minimum Order Quantity
GMV—Gross Merchandise Value
COD—Cash on Delivery
POS—Point of Sale
Inv. Turnover—Rate stock is sold
Fulfillment—Order processing & delivery
Dropshipping—Selling without holding stock
Marketplace—Buyer-seller platform
Omni-channel—Multi-platform selling
🏢 General & Growth Metrics 10 terms
EOD—End of Day
FY—Financial Year
YTD—Year to Date
QoQ—Quarter over Quarter
YoY—Year over Year
NPS—Net Promoter Score
Churn Rate—Customer loss rate
Retention—Customer loyalty rate
Scalability—Ability to grow efficiently
Benchmarking—Compare with industry standards
⭐ Extra Useful Terms 10 terms
Lead—Potential customer interest
Funnel—Customer journey stages
Conv. Rate—Leads becoming customers
Branding—Creating a strong identity
Positioning—Market perception strategy
Monetization—Earning revenue from product
Licensing—Permission to use IP
Synergy—Combined effort, better results
Outsourcing—Hiring external services
Franchise—Business model using brand rights