User acquisition refers to the process of attracting and converting individuals into users or customers of a product or service. It involves strategies, campaigns, and techniques designed to reach target audiences, engage them, and encourage them to take desired actions, such as signing up or making a purchase.
User engagement refers to the level of interaction, involvement, and emotional connection that users have with a product, service, or brand. It is often measured through metrics such as clicks, shares, time spent, and repeat usage, indicating how actively users interact with a company’s offerings.
User Experience (UX) refers to the overall interaction and satisfaction that a user has with a product, service, or system. It encompasses elements such as usability, design, accessibility, and the emotional response elicited during use. A positive UX ensures that a product is intuitive, engaging, and meets user needs effectively.
User retention refers to a company’s ability to keep users actively engaged with its product or service over time. It measures how successfully a business prevents churn and maintains a loyal customer base. High user retention indicates that users find consistent value in the offering, while low retention suggests potential issues with user satisfaction, engagement, or product-market fit.
A valuation cap is a maximum valuation set on convertible instruments like a SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) or a convertible note. It establishes the highest company value at which early investors can convert their investment to equity, allowing them to secure a fair share of the company.
A valuation method is a systematic approach used to determine the economic value of a business, asset, or investment. These methods consider various factors such as financial performance, market conditions, assets, and growth potential to calculate a fair valuation.
Value-Based Pricing is a pricing strategy where a company sets the price of a product or service based on the perceived value to the customer, rather than production costs or competitor prices. This approach focuses on customer willingness to pay by aligning pricing with the benefits and outcomes the product delivers. It is commonly used in SaaS, luxury goods, and service-based industries where differentiation and perceived value play a key role.
Value-based pricing is a strategy where the price is set based on how much your customers are willing to pay for the perceived value of your product or service—not based on production costs or competitor pricing.
Why it matters for startups
This strategy puts the user at the center. If you truly understand your customer’s pain points and how your product solves them, value-based pricing can unlock higher margins and stronger positioning. It shows investors you’re thinking beyond cost—you’re building for impact and retention.
Venture debt is a type of financing provided to early-stage, high-growth companies that have already raised equity funding. Unlike traditional loans, venture debt is often used to extend the runway, fund growth initiatives, or bridge the gap between equity rounds. It is typically offered by specialized lenders or venture capital firms alongside equity investors.
A venture partner is a professional affiliated with a venture capital (VC) firm who works on a part-time or project-specific basis. Their role typically involves sourcing deals, providing strategic advice, or supporting portfolio companies, without being a full-time member of the firm. Venture partners leverage their expertise, networks, and industry knowledge to contribute to the firm’s success and investment strategies.
A Venture Studio is a company that creates and develops multiple startups from the ground up, providing resources, expertise, and guidance to accelerate their growth. Venture studios typically support startups with funding, strategic direction, product development, and operational resources, helping founders overcome early-stage challenges more efficiently.
Vertical integration is a growth strategy in which a company gains control over its supply chain by acquiring or merging with its suppliers or distributors. This approach allows the company to streamline operations, reduce costs, and improve control over the production and distribution process.
Vesting is the process by which an employee or founder earns ownership rights over a certain period of time. This is typically achieved through the use of stock options or restricted stock units.
A vesting schedule outlines the timeline over which employees or founders gain ownership rights to their shares or stock options. Typically, this schedule spans several years and often includes an initial “cliff” period, during which no shares are vested.
A volume discount strategy offers customers a lower price per unit when they buy in larger quantities. It’s designed to incentivize bigger purchases and reward customer commitment, often used in B2B sales, wholesale, or SaaS with tiered pricing.
Why it matters for startups
Volume discounts can help you increase order size, boost customer loyalty, and accelerate revenue—especially if your startup operates in a high-competition market. It’s also a strategic way to lock in long-term users or clear inventory.
A warrant is a financial instrument that grants the holder the right to buy a company's stock at a predetermined price during a specific time frame.
A waterfall is the order of priority in which proceeds are distributed among shareholders and creditors during an exit, such as a sale or liquidation. It ensures that each group of stakeholders receives payment based on their specific claim.
Working capital is a financial metric that measures a company’s short-term liquidity and operational efficiency. It is calculated as the difference between current assets (such as cash, accounts receivable, and inventory) and current liabilities (such as accounts payable and short-term debt). Positive working capital indicates that a company can meet its short-term obligations, while negative working capital may signal financial challenges.
Working capital management is the process of monitoring and optimizing a company’s short-term assets and liabilities to ensure it can meet its operational needs and financial obligations. It focuses on maintaining a balance between current assets, such as cash and receivables, and current liabilities, such as accounts payable and short-term debt.
The working capital ratio, also known as the current ratio, is a financial metric that measures a company’s ability to cover its short-term liabilities with its short-term assets. It is calculated by dividing current assets by current liabilities. A ratio greater than 1 indicates that a company has more assets than liabilities, signaling good liquidity and financial health.
The XIRR method is a calculation technique used to determine the internal rate of return (IRR) for cash flows that occur at irregular intervals.
Yield refers to the return on investment or profit generated by an investment. It is a measure of the income earned on an investment relative to the amount invested.
The yield curve is a graphical representation that shows the relationship between interest rates and the maturity dates of debt securities, typically government bonds. It illustrates how the yield (return) on bonds changes as the time to maturity increases. The curve can take different shapes—normal, inverted, or flat—each providing insights into market expectations and economic conditions.
Yield management, also known as revenue management, is a dynamic pricing strategy used to maximize revenue by adjusting prices based on demand, customer behavior, and market conditions. This approach is commonly used in industries with fixed capacities, such as airlines, hotels, and event management, where it helps optimize the balance between price and volume sold.
Zero-based budgeting (ZBB) is a budgeting approach where every expense must be justified for each new budgeting period, starting from a "zero base." Unlike traditional budgeting methods that adjust previous budgets incrementally, ZBB requires a detailed review of all expenditures to ensure they align with current goals and priorities.
A zero-sum game is a concept from game theory where one participant’s gain is exactly balanced by another participant’s loss. In such scenarios, the total benefit or loss remains constant, and the success of one party directly comes at the expense of another. Zero-sum games are often used to describe competitive situations in economics, business, or politics.
A zombie company refers to a company that continues to operate even though it is insolvent or facing significant financial distress. These companies are typically unable to generate enough revenue to cover their debts and ongoing expenses, yet they somehow manage to keep operating.
