Startup glossary
Plain-English definitions for 203 startup, equity, and venture capital terms. Built for employees, operators, and founders at venture-backed companies.
Start here
The most-asked-about terms — useful if you're trying to make sense of a job offer, equity grant, or fundraising news.
Preferred Stock
Shares with special rights (liquidation preferences, anti-dilution) held by investors.
Liquidation Preference
Investors' right to get their money back before common shareholders receive anything in an exit.
Vesting
The process of earning your equity over time, typically over a four-year period.
Strike Price
The fixed price you pay to buy shares when exercising your stock options.
Section 409A
IRS code governing deferred compensation; requires options be priced at fair market value.
Cap Table
A spreadsheet tracking every shareholder, their share counts, and ownership percentages.
Dilution
The reduction in your ownership percentage when a company issues new shares.
SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity)
A simple investment contract that converts to equity at the next priced round.
Tender Offer
A company-organized opportunity for employees to sell some of their vested shares to a buyer.
Pre-Money Valuation
What a company is worth immediately before receiving new investment.
Incentive Stock Options (ISOs)
Tax-advantaged stock options for employees that qualify for long-term capital gains treatment.
Restricted Stock Units (RSUs)
A promise to deliver shares of stock as they vest, taxed as income on each vesting date.
Browse by category
Startup & Venture Basics
Foundational concepts every employee at a venture-backed company should know.
Funding Rounds
How startups raise capital — from pre-seed to growth stage.
Valuation
How startups are valued and what those numbers actually mean for your equity.
Equity, Ownership & Dilution
How shares work, how ownership gets divided, and how it changes over time.
Stock Compensation
Stock options, RSUs, vesting, and everything related to equity comp at a startup.
Fundraising Instruments
SAFEs, convertible notes, preferred stock, and the legal structures that govern funding.
Investor Terms & Rights
Term-sheet provisions that shape governance, control, and exit outcomes.
Startup Metrics
Key financial and operational metrics used to evaluate startup performance.
Liquidity & Exits
IPOs, acquisitions, tender offers, and other ways shares become liquid.
Secondary Markets
Buying and selling private company shares before an IPO or acquisition.
Legal & Structural
Corporate structure, governance, and the legal framework that surrounds startups.
Fund Mechanics
How venture capital funds operate — fund vintages, carry, and the language of LPs and GPs.
All terms (A–Z)
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- Pari Passu
- Participating Preferred
- Participation Cap
- Pay-to-Play
- Performance Stock Units (PSUs)
- Phantom Stock
- Post-Money SAFE
- Post-Money Valuation
- Post-Termination Exercise Period (PTEP)
- Pre-Money SAFE
- Pre-Money Valuation
- Pre-Seed
- Preemptive Rights
- Preferred Stock
- Price Per Share
- Private Equity (PE)
- Pro Forma Cap Table
- Pro Rata Rights
- Product-Market Fit
- Protective Provisions
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S
- SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity)
- Secondary Buyer
- Secondary Market
- Secondary Pricing Discount
- Secondary Sale
- Section 1202 / QSBS
- Section 409A
- Seed Round
- Series A
- Series B
- Series C
- Series D
- Serviceable Addressable Market (SAM)
- Share Class
- Shareholders Agreement
- Side Letter
- Single-Trigger Acceleration
- SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company)
- Startup
- Stock Options
- Stock Split
- Strike Price
- Structured Secondary
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Definitions are intended as plain-English educational summaries. Not legal, tax, or investment advice.