In the land of startups, scale-ups and Venture Capitalism, jargon and abbreviations are absolutely everywhere. Use this startup glossary of terms to search 101+ definitions every startup founder should know.
GLOSSARY![]()
E
Elevator pitch
A brief statement providing an overview of your business. Can you convey your startup's value proposition in the time it takes the lift/elevator to reach the next floor?
Engagement Rate
A metric measuring how actively users interact with content, such as likes or shares.
Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS)
The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) is a UK government scheme that helps younger, higher-risk businesses raise finance by offering generous tax reliefs to investors. Read more here.
Equity
The value of shares issued by a startup (or other company). e.g. she owns 63% of the startup's equity.
Equity Capital
Equity capital is the capital/finance that a business raises from investors in exchange for equity or stock (in this context, equity capital can be an alternative to debt capital).
Equity Crowdfunding
Equity crowdfunding refers to generating capital by asking a large number of people for a small investment in exchange for a small amount of equity, usually via a third party platform.
Exit Strategy
An exit strategy is a Founder's plan to sell their ownership in a company to investors/another company. An exit strategy gives a business owner a way to reduce or liquidate their stake in a business (generally for a profit).
