Inglés para el emprendimiento: vocabulario esencial

"minimum viable product (MVP)"

The simplest version of a product that can be released to early customers to test core assumptions with minimal effort.

""They launched an MVP with just three features to validate demand before building the full platform.""

"pivot"

A fundamental change in a startup's business model, product, or target market based on new learnings.

""After the MVP tests showed weak results, the founders decided to pivot from B2C to B2B.""

"value proposition"

A clear statement that explains how your product solves a problem, delivers benefits, and why customers should choose it.

""Their value proposition was simple: save small businesses ten hours a week on accounting.""

"go-to-market strategy"

A plan specifying how a company will reach target customers and achieve competitive advantage at launch.

""The go-to-market strategy focused on direct sales to mid-size retailers in the first six months.""

"product-market fit"

The degree to which a product satisfies a strong market demand, often considered the holy grail for early-stage startups.

""When retention rates hit 60%, the team knew they had finally achieved product-market fit.""

"bootstrapping"

Building and growing a business using personal savings and revenue, without external investment or loans.

""By bootstrapping for two years, the founders kept full equity and grew profitably from day one.""

"scalability"

The ability of a business model to grow revenue significantly without a proportional increase in costs.

""Because the software was cloud-based, scalability was built in from the very start.""

"lean startup"

A methodology for developing businesses that values learning over planning, testing ideas rapidly with real customers.

""Following lean startup principles, the team ran five customer experiments before writing a line of code.""

"term sheet"

A non-binding document outlining the key terms and conditions under which an investor will make an investment.

""After three weeks of negotiations, the VC firm finally sent over a term sheet valuing the company at $8 million.""

"seed funding"

The first official round of capital raised by a startup, typically from angel investors or early-stage venture funds.

""The seed funding of $500,000 gave them eighteen months of runway to build the prototype.""

"venture capital (VC)"

Private equity financing provided to high-growth startups in exchange for equity, typically at Series A stage and beyond.

""They closed a $5 million Series A with a top venture capital firm focused on fintech.""

"dilution"

The reduction in existing shareholders' ownership percentage when new shares are issued to investors.

""Each new funding round caused dilution, dropping the founders' combined stake from 80% to 55%.""

"valuation"

The process of determining the current or projected worth of a company, often expressed as pre-money or post-money value.

""The pre-money valuation of $10 million meant new investors were buying in at a significant premium.""

"angel investor"

A high-net-worth individual who provides capital for early-stage startups in exchange for equity or convertible debt.

""An angel investor wrote the first cheque of $150,000 after watching the founders' pitch at a demo day.""

"cap table"

A spreadsheet detailing the equity ownership structure of a company, listing all shareholders and their percentages.

""Before Series A, the lawyer advised them to clean up the cap table and consolidate early equity grants.""

"convertible note"

A short-term debt instrument that converts into equity at a future funding round, often with a discount or valuation cap.

""They raised $300,000 via convertible notes to bridge the gap until the Series A closed.""

"elevator pitch"

A short, persuasive summary of a business idea or product that can be delivered in the time of an elevator ride.

""She rehearsed her elevator pitch until she could explain the entire concept clearly in under sixty seconds.""

"pitch deck"

A visual slide presentation used by entrepreneurs to give potential investors an overview of the business.

""The pitch deck covered the problem, solution, market size, traction, team, and funding ask across twelve slides.""

"due diligence"

The comprehensive investigation conducted by investors before finalising a deal to verify claims and assess risks.

""The due diligence process took six weeks and included reviewing contracts, financials, and customer interviews.""

"traction"

Evidence that a startup's product or service is gaining momentum in the market, shown through metrics and growth.

""Traction was clear: monthly active users had grown 40% month-over-month for six consecutive months.""

"unique selling proposition (USP)"

The specific factor that differentiates a product or company from its competitors in a meaningful way.

""Their USP was same-day delivery in rural areas — a gap no other competitor had addressed.""

"addressable market"

The total revenue opportunity available to a company in a specific market segment it aims to capture.

""The pitch highlighted a $4 billion addressable market for AI-powered HR software in Europe alone.""

"proof of concept"

A demonstration that a business idea, product, or method is feasible and works as intended in real conditions.

""The pilot with three enterprise clients served as proof of concept before seeking Series A funding.""

"pain point"

A specific problem or frustration experienced by a target customer that the product or service aims to solve.

""The biggest pain point they identified was that freelancers spent an average of five hours a week on invoicing.""

"monthly recurring revenue (MRR)"

The predictable total revenue generated by a subscription business in a given month.

""After integrating the enterprise tier, MRR jumped from $12,000 to $45,000 in a single quarter.""

"churn rate"

The percentage of customers who cancel or stop using a product or service over a given period.

""Reducing churn rate from 8% to 4% monthly effectively doubled the business without acquiring a single new customer.""

"customer acquisition cost (CAC)"

The total cost of marketing and sales efforts required to acquire a single new customer.

""Their CAC dropped to $12 after they shifted budget from paid ads to referral programmes.""

"lifetime value (LTV)"

The total revenue a business can expect from a single customer account throughout the business relationship.

""With an LTV of $1,200 and a CAC of $80, the unit economics were excellent and justified rapid scaling.""

"burn rate"

The speed at which a startup spends its cash reserves, typically measured monthly, before becoming profitable.

""With a burn rate of $60,000 per month and $720,000 in the bank, they had exactly one year of runway.""

"runway"

The amount of time a startup can continue operating at its current burn rate before it runs out of money.

""Closing the bridge round extended their runway from four months to fourteen, buying time to reach profitability.""

"north star metric"

A single key metric that best captures the core value a product delivers to customers and predicts long-term growth.

""Their north star metric was weekly active creators — not revenue — because it best predicted long-term retention.""

"growth hacking"

Rapid, low-cost marketing experimentation focused on finding scalable strategies to grow a user base quickly.

""Dropbox's referral programme is the classic growth hacking example: extra storage for every friend you invite.""

"business model canvas"

A one-page strategic template that maps the nine key building blocks of a business on a single visual framework.

""Before writing the business plan, they filled out a business model canvas to identify gaps in their assumptions.""

"freemium"

A pricing strategy that offers a basic version of a product for free while charging for premium features.

""The freemium model brought in millions of free users, converting 3% of them to paid plans.""

"SaaS (Software as a Service)"

A software distribution model in which applications are hosted in the cloud and sold via subscription rather than installed locally.

""By switching to a SaaS model, they replaced lumpy licence fees with predictable monthly subscriptions.""

"disruptive innovation"

An innovation that transforms an existing market by offering a simpler, more affordable, or more accessible alternative.

""Airbnb was a disruptive innovation that challenged the hotel industry by leveraging underutilised private space.""

"competitive moat"

A sustainable competitive advantage that protects a company's market position and profitability from rivals over time.

""Their proprietary data set was the competitive moat that made it nearly impossible for new entrants to compete.""

"network effect"

A phenomenon where a product or service becomes more valuable as more people use it.

""WhatsApp grew entirely through network effects — the app was only useful if your contacts were already on it.""

"platform business"

A business model that creates value by facilitating interactions between two or more interdependent user groups.

""Uber is a platform business connecting drivers and riders, never owning a single vehicle itself.""

"unit economics"

The direct revenues and costs associated with a single unit of business, used to assess fundamental profitability.

""The investors wanted to see that unit economics were positive before committing to a Series B.""

"equity split"

The agreed division of ownership percentages among the co-founders of a startup.

""They spent two days negotiating the equity split before agreeing on 60/40 to reflect different contribution levels.""

"vesting schedule"

A timeline over which employees or founders earn their equity stake, typically over four years with a one-year cliff.

""The vesting schedule protected the company when one co-founder left after only eight months.""

"agile methodology"

An iterative project management approach that breaks work into short cycles called sprints, emphasising flexibility.

""Switching to agile methodology meant the product team could ship new features every two weeks instead of every quarter.""

"OKRs (Objectives and Key Results)"

A goal-setting framework that links company-wide objectives to measurable results at team and individual levels.

""Each quarter, the team set OKRs and shared them openly to keep everyone aligned on company priorities.""

"remote-first"

An organisational approach where remote work is the default for all employees, with culture and processes designed around it.

""By going remote-first, they accessed talent from 14 countries and cut office costs by 70%.""

"culture fit"

The degree to which a candidate's values, behaviours, and working style align with the organisation's culture.

""Culture fit was as important as technical skills; every finalist had to meet the whole team before an offer was made.""

"technical co-founder"

A co-founder with deep engineering or technical expertise who leads product development at an early-stage startup.

""Without a technical co-founder, the CEO relied on freelancers for a year before finally finding the right partner.""

"advisory board"

A group of experienced external individuals who provide strategic guidance to a startup without formal governance authority.

""The advisory board included a former CFO and two industry veterans who opened key partnership doors.""