Angel Investor - An individual who invests a certain amount of money (usually 25-500k) early on, in order to get the company off the ground.

B2B - Acronym for Business-to-Business. A type of business transaction that is carried between two companies (as opposed to a business selling to a consumer, B2C)

B2C - Acronym for Business-to-Customer. A type of business transaction that is carried between a company and an individual consumer (as opposed a business selling to another business, B2B)

Bootstrapping - Financing a startup through a founder's personal resources or otherwise extremely limited external resources.

Burn Rate - The rate at which startups exhaust raised capital to fund operations in excess of income. Related to runway.

Customer Lifetime Value - The forecast of total profit that company can expect to earn from one customer throughout the lifetime of their relationship.

Debt Financing - A straight forward loan. A common type of financing through borrowed money for companies that don't want to give up ownership. The company is obliged to pay back the interest and principal to the investor(s).

Equity Financing - A method of capital raising where companies give up certain percentage of ownership in exchange for cash. When you hear of a company closing a round, it's almost always an equity financing round.

Funding Round - A distinct startup investment offering, typically offered to multiple investors on the same terms. Most common: Seed, Series A, Series B,...

IPO - Initial Public Offering - An event in which private companies make their shares available on public markets.

Lead Investor - A lead investor is a venture capitalist who takes charge of the deal. This is usually the person investing the largest share in the current round.

MVP - Minimum Viable Product - A version of a new product with the minimum set of features that can deliver customer value. Usually used as a proof of concept.

ROI - Return on Investment - The percentage of profit compared to the effort and/or capital expended.

SAAS - Software-as-a-Service (also known as a Cloud Application Service) is a software distribution method where clients are provided with a software application remotely via the Internet. E.g. Salesforce - a customer relationship management software, Slack - A messaging app for teams, etc.

Seed Round - The first time startups raise outside capital (ie from people that aren't close friends & family). Typically, at this point the company is raising money to build out a working proof of concept and are seeking to raise between $50k and $1.5 million.

Term Sheet - A document that outlines the conditions of proposed business agreement, most commonly used in reference to offers from investors to startups.

Valuation - The worth of a company. Typically adjusted and defined as part of various investment rounds.

Venture Capitalist - A private investor who provides capital (and usually advisement) to startups.