Startup Glossary S: Complete List of Startup Terms Starting with S

S – Startup Glossary

The letter S contains some of the most important terms in the startup ecosystem. From Startup, Seed Funding, SaaS, Scalability, Sales Funnel, Subscription Model, Stakeholders, and Startup Valuation to Serviceable Addressable Market and Sweat Equity, these concepts help founders understand how to build, finance, market, and scale a business.

Startup

A Startup is a young company created to develop and offer a product or service while pursuing a business model that can potentially grow at scale.

Startups often operate under uncertainty and focus on solving a specific customer problem.

Example: A founder creates a technology company that develops software to help small businesses automate accounting.

Related Terms: Entrepreneurship, Business Model, Scaleup

Startup Ecosystem

The Startup Ecosystem is the network of people, organizations, institutions, resources, and infrastructure that support startup creation and growth.

It can include founders, investors, incubators, accelerators, mentors, universities, governments, corporations, service providers, and startup communities.

Example: Bengaluru’s startup ecosystem includes founders, venture capital firms, technology companies, accelerators, universities, and other organizations supporting entrepreneurship.

Related Terms: Startup Community, Entrepreneurship, Innovation

Startup Founder

A Startup Founder is a person who creates and builds a startup.

Founders typically identify a problem, develop a solution, assemble a team, raise capital when needed, and take responsibility for important business decisions.

Example: A founder identifies a problem faced by small retailers and builds a technology platform to solve it.

Related Terms: Entrepreneur, Co-Founder, Founder-Market Fit

Co-Founder

A Co-Founder is one of two or more people who jointly establish a company.

Co-founders may divide responsibilities across technology, product, sales, operations, finance, or other areas.

Example: One co-founder leads product development while another manages sales and business development.

Related Terms: Founder, Founding Team, Equity

Seed Funding

Seed Funding is early-stage capital used to help a startup develop its product, validate its business model, hire an initial team, acquire customers, and reach important milestones.

• Seed capital can come from founders, angel investors, venture capital firms, accelerators, or other sources.

Example: A startup raises ₹3 crore in seed funding to build its MVP and acquire its first customers.

Related Terms: Pre-Seed, Series A, Angel Investment

Seed Round

A Seed Round is a fundraising round in which a startup raises capital during its early stages.

The size, valuation, structure, and investor participation can vary significantly depending on the company and market.

Example: A startup raises a seed round from angel investors and an early-stage venture capital fund.

Related Terms: Seed Funding, Funding Round, Venture Capital

Seed Investor

A Seed Investor is an individual or institution that invests capital in a startup during its seed stage.

Example: An angel investor provides ₹1 crore to a startup in exchange for an agreed ownership interest or through a convertible instrument.

Related Terms: Angel Investor, Venture Capitalist, Seed Funding

SaaS

SaaS, or Software as a Service, is a software business model in which customers access software through the internet rather than purchasing and installing a traditional software package.

• SaaS companies commonly charge customers through subscriptions.

Example: A startup offers project-management software through a monthly subscription.

Related Terms: Cloud Computing, Subscription Model, MRR

SaaS Business Model

A SaaS Business Model generates revenue by providing software as an ongoing service, commonly through monthly or annual subscriptions.

Example: A company charges businesses ₹2,000 per user per month to access its accounting platform.

Related Terms: SaaS, Subscription Revenue, Recurring Revenue

Scalability

Scalability is the ability of a business, product, technology system, or operation to grow without costs or complexity increasing at the same rate as output.

Example: A cloud-based software startup can add thousands of customers without physically opening a new office for every customer.

Related Terms: Scale, Growth, Economies of Scale

Scaleup

A Scaleup is a company that has moved beyond the earliest startup stage and is focused on rapidly expanding its operations, revenue, customers, team, or market presence.

Example: After achieving strong product-market fit, a startup expands into several new cities and significantly increases hiring.

Related Terms: Startup, Scaling, Growth Stage

Scaling

Scaling is the process of growing a company while developing systems, processes, technology, and teams that can support the increased level of activity.

Example: A startup automates customer support and improves its technology infrastructure before expanding to millions of users.

Related Terms: Scalability, Scaleup, Growth

Scale

Scale refers to the size or level at which a company operates, as well as its ability to increase that level efficiently.

Example: A startup that increases from 10,000 customers to one million customers demonstrates significant business scale.

Related Terms: Scaling, Scalability, Growth

Serviceable Addressable Market (SAM)

Serviceable Addressable Market (SAM) is the portion of the total addressable market that a company can realistically target with its current business model, product, geography, and capabilities.

Example: If the global market for a product is ₹1,000 crore but a startup initially operates only in India, the Indian segment may represent its SAM.

Related Terms: TAM, SOM, Market Size

Total Addressable Market (TAM)

Total Addressable Market (TAM) represents the total potential demand or revenue opportunity for a product or service if the company could theoretically serve the entire relevant market.

Example: A startup estimates that the global market for its category is worth ₹50,000 crore.

Related Terms: SAM, SOM, Market Research

Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM)

Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM) is the portion of the SAM that a startup realistically expects to capture within a defined period.

Example: A startup estimates that it could realistically capture ₹100 crore of its ₹1,000 crore serviceable market over several years.

Related Terms: TAM, SAM, Market Share

Sales Funnel

A Sales Funnel represents the stages a potential customer moves through before becoming a paying customer.

Typical stages may include awareness, interest, consideration, evaluation, and purchase.

Example: A SaaS company attracts visitors through content, converts some into leads, schedules product demos, and eventually converts qualified prospects into customers.

Related Terms: Marketing Funnel, Conversion Rate, Lead Generation

Sales Pipeline

A Sales Pipeline is a structured view of potential sales opportunities and their current stages in the sales process.

Example: A B2B startup tracks prospects at stages such as contacted, qualified, proposal sent, negotiation, and closed.

Related Terms: Sales Funnel, CRM, Sales Forecast

Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)

A Sales Qualified Lead (SQL) is a lead that has been evaluated and considered ready for direct sales engagement based on defined qualification criteria.

Example: A marketing lead becomes an SQL after confirming its business need, budget, and buying timeline.

Related Terms: MQL, Lead Qualification, Sales Pipeline

Sales Development Representative (SDR)

A Sales Development Representative (SDR) is a sales professional who typically focuses on identifying, contacting, and qualifying potential customers before passing suitable opportunities to other members of the sales team.

Example: An SDR contacts companies that match the startup’s ideal customer profile and schedules qualified meetings for an account executive.

Related Terms: BDR, Sales Pipeline, Lead Generation

Sales Conversion Rate

Sales Conversion Rate measures the percentage of prospects or leads that become customers during a defined stage or period.

A common simplified formula is:

Sales Conversion Rate = Customers ÷ Qualified Prospects × 100

Example: If 100 qualified prospects result in 20 customers, the conversion rate is 20%.

Related Terms: Conversion Rate, Sales Funnel, Customer Acquisition

Sales Cycle

A Sales Cycle is the period and sequence of activities involved in moving a prospect from initial contact to a completed sale.

Example: An enterprise software startup may have a sales cycle involving discovery, product demonstration, security review, negotiation, contract approval, and purchase.

Related Terms: Sales Process, Sales Pipeline, Deal Cycle

Sales Enablement

Sales Enablement involves providing sales teams with the tools, content, training, data, and processes they need to sell more effectively.

Example: A startup creates product guides, case studies, sales presentations, and training materials for its sales team.

Related Terms: Sales Training, Sales Operations, Revenue Enablement

Sales Forecast

A Sales Forecast is an estimate of future sales based on current opportunities, historical performance, conversion rates, market conditions, and other assumptions.

Example: A B2B startup forecasts ₹5 crore in sales for the next quarter based on its current pipeline.

Related Terms: Revenue Forecast, Sales Pipeline, Forecasting

Sales Target

A Sales Target is a defined sales goal that an individual, team, or company aims to achieve during a specific period.

Example: A sales team receives a quarterly target of ₹2 crore in new bookings.

Related Terms: Sales Quota, KPI, Revenue Target

Sales Quota

A Sales Quota is a specific sales target assigned to an individual or sales team.

Example: An account executive has a quarterly quota of ₹50 lakh.

Related Terms: Sales Target, Quota Attainment, Sales Performance

Subscription Model

A Subscription Model charges customers on a recurring basis to continue accessing a product or service.

Payments may be monthly, quarterly, annually, or based on another agreed period.

Example: A productivity application charges users ₹499 per month for premium features.

Related Terms: SaaS, Recurring Revenue, Membership Model

Subscription Revenue

Subscription Revenue is revenue generated from customers who pay repeatedly for continued access to a product or service.

Example: A streaming platform receives monthly subscription payments from its customers.

Related Terms: Recurring Revenue, MRR, ARR

Stakeholder

A Stakeholder is a person, group, or organization that can affect or be affected by a company’s activities and decisions.

Stakeholders can include founders, employees, customers, investors, suppliers, regulators, and partners.

Example: Investors are stakeholders because their capital and interests can influence the company’s strategic decisions.

Related Terms: Shareholder, Investor, Corporate Governance

Shareholder

A Shareholder is a person or entity that owns shares in a company.

Shareholders may have economic rights and, depending on the type of shares and applicable rules, voting or other rights.

Example: An angel investor who receives shares in a startup becomes a shareholder.

Related Terms: Equity, Ownership, Investor

Shareholder Agreement

A Shareholder Agreement is a legal agreement that establishes certain rights, responsibilities, restrictions, and arrangements among shareholders and sometimes the company.

The specific provisions depend on the company’s structure and applicable law.

Example: A startup’s shareholder agreement may address share transfers, voting rights, founder obligations, and certain investor protections.

Related Terms: Founders Agreement, Equity, Corporate Governance

Startup Valuation

Startup Valuation is the estimated financial value of a startup.

Valuation can be influenced by factors such as revenue, growth, market opportunity, technology, competitive position, team, traction, and investor demand.

Example: Investors and founders agree on a valuation of ₹100 crore as part of a funding round.

Related Terms: Pre-Money Valuation, Post-Money Valuation, Funding Round

Pre-Money Valuation

Pre-Money Valuation is the agreed value of a company immediately before a new investment is added.

Example: If a startup has a pre-money valuation of ₹40 crore and raises ₹10 crore, its post-money valuation is ₹50 crore under a simple equity financing structure.

Related Terms: Post-Money Valuation, Startup Valuation, Equity

Post-Money Valuation

Post-Money Valuation is the value of a company immediately after a new investment is added.

In a simple priced equity round:

Post-Money Valuation = Pre-Money Valuation + New Investment

Example: A startup with a ₹40 crore pre-money valuation raises ₹10 crore, resulting in a ₹50 crore post-money valuation.

Related Terms: Pre-Money Valuation, Funding Round, Dilution

Sweat Equity

Sweat Equity refers to ownership or equity granted in recognition of a person’s contribution of time, expertise, work, intellectual property, or other non-cash value to a company, subject to applicable legal and contractual requirements.

Example: A technical co-founder contributes expertise and development work during the early stage and receives an ownership stake.

Related Terms: Founder Equity, Equity Compensation, Ownership

Startup Equity

Startup Equity represents ownership in a startup.

Equity may be held by founders, employees, investors, or other eligible stakeholders depending on the company’s structure and agreements.

Example: A founder owns 60% of the company while investors collectively own 20% and an employee option pool represents another portion.

Related Terms: Shares, Ownership, Dilution

Stock Option

A Stock Option gives an eligible person the right, but generally not the obligation, to purchase shares at a specified price under defined conditions.

Startups often use employee stock options as part of compensation.

Example: An employee receives options that vest over four years and can later be exercised according to the plan terms.

Related Terms: ESOP, Vesting, Equity Compensation

Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)

An Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) is a structure through which employees can receive an ownership interest or rights related to company shares, depending on the applicable legal and corporate framework.

In startup discussions, ESOP is often used broadly to describe employee equity option programs.

Example: A startup creates an employee option pool to offer equity incentives to key employees.

Related Terms: Stock Options, Employee Equity, Vesting

Vesting

Vesting is the process through which a person earns the right to receive or retain equity or other benefits over time or after meeting specified conditions.

Example: An employee’s stock options may vest over four years.

Related Terms: Cliff, ESOP, Equity Compensation

Cliff

A Cliff is a period at the beginning of a vesting schedule during which no equity becomes vested.

Example: Under a four-year vesting schedule with a one-year cliff, an employee generally receives no vested equity during the first year and then reaches the first vesting milestone after one year, subject to the plan terms.

Related Terms: Vesting, ESOP, Stock Options

Strategic Partnership

A Strategic Partnership is a collaboration between businesses or organizations designed to create mutual strategic value.

Example: A startup partners with a large enterprise to distribute its technology to a broader customer base.

Related Terms: Partnership, Business Development, Distribution

Strategic Investor

A Strategic Investor is an investor that provides capital while potentially offering additional business value such as distribution, technology, expertise, partnerships, or industry access.

Example: An established technology company invests in a startup whose product complements its existing business.

Related Terms: Investor, Corporate Venture Capital, Strategic Partnership

Social Proof

Social Proof is evidence that other people or organizations trust, use, recommend, or value a product or company.

Examples include customer testimonials, reviews, case studies, user numbers, expert endorsements, and recognizable customer logos.

Example: A B2B startup displays customer case studies to help potential buyers feel more confident about its product.

Related Terms: Trust, Testimonials, Brand Credibility

Social Entrepreneurship

Social Entrepreneurship involves building an organization or business designed to address a social or environmental problem while pursuing a sustainable operating model.

Example: A startup develops an affordable technology solution designed to improve access to clean drinking water.

Related Terms: Impact Startup, Social Enterprise, Sustainability

SaaS Metrics

SaaS Metrics are measurable indicators used to evaluate the performance and health of a software-as-a-service business.

Common SaaS metrics include MRR, ARR, churn rate, customer acquisition cost, customer lifetime value, gross margin, and net revenue retention.

Example: A SaaS startup tracks MRR and churn every month to understand whether recurring revenue is growing sustainably.

Related Terms: SaaS, MRR, ARR, Churn

Seed Capital

Seed Capital is early-stage funding used to help a startup develop its product, validate demand, build a team, and establish initial operations.

• Seed capital can come from founders, friends and family, angel investors, accelerators, or institutional investors.

Example: A founder raises ₹1 crore in seed capital to build an MVP and acquire the first group of customers.

Related Terms: Seed Funding, Pre-Seed, Angel Investment

Series A

Series A is a funding round typically raised after a startup has demonstrated meaningful market traction and is seeking capital to develop and scale its business.

The exact stage and characteristics of a Series A vary by company and market.

Example: A SaaS startup with strong customer growth raises a Series A to expand its sales team and enter new markets.

Related Terms: Seed Round, Series B, Venture Capital

Series B

Series B is a later-stage venture funding round generally used to help a startup scale operations, expand into new markets, strengthen its team, and accelerate growth.

Example: A startup with proven product-market fit raises a Series B to expand internationally.

Related Terms: Series A, Series C, Growth Capital

Series C

Series C is a later-stage funding round typically raised by startups that have established substantial market traction and are seeking capital for continued expansion, acquisitions, or other major growth initiatives.

Example: A mature technology startup raises a Series C to expand globally and acquire a complementary company.

Related Terms: Series B, Growth Stage, Late-Stage Funding

Series D

Series D is a later-stage financing round that may be raised when a company requires additional capital for expansion, acquisitions, strategic initiatives, or preparation for a potential liquidity event.

Not every startup raises a Series D.

Example: A rapidly expanding company raises a Series D to enter multiple international markets.

Related Terms: Series C, Growth Capital, Late-Stage Funding

Share Dilution

Share Dilution occurs when a company issues additional shares and an existing shareholder’s percentage ownership decreases as a result.

Example: A founder owns 60% of a startup before a funding round. After new shares are issued to investors, the founder’s percentage ownership may decrease.

Dilution does not necessarily mean that the absolute value of the founder’s ownership decreases; the company’s overall valuation also matters.

Related Terms: Equity, Funding Round, Ownership

Share Capital

Share Capital represents the capital raised by a company through the issuance of shares, subject to the company’s legal and accounting structure.

Example: Investors provide capital to a company in exchange for newly issued shares.

Related Terms: Equity, Shares, Paid-Up Capital

Shareholder

A Shareholder is an individual or organization that owns shares in a company.

Shareholders may have economic, voting, or other rights depending on the type of shares and applicable legal framework.

Example: An angel investor who purchases shares in a startup becomes a shareholder.

Related Terms: Equity, Ownership, Investor

Shareholder Value

Shareholder Value refers to the economic value created for a company’s shareholders.

It can be influenced by profitability, growth, valuation, dividends, share price, and other factors depending on the company’s structure.

Example: A company increases shareholder value by growing revenue and profitability while maintaining strong capital efficiency.

Related Terms: Valuation, Profitability, Equity

Startup Accelerator

A Startup Accelerator is a structured program designed to help early-stage startups develop and grow within a defined period.

Accelerators may provide mentorship, training, networking, resources, and sometimes investment.

Example: A startup joins an accelerator program and receives mentorship, investor introductions, and funding.

Related Terms: Startup Incubator, Mentorship, Seed Funding

Startup Incubator

A Startup Incubator supports early-stage businesses by providing resources such as workspace, mentorship, networking, training, and sometimes funding.

Unlike accelerators, incubators may not always operate through a fixed, intensive program.

Example: A university incubator helps student founders develop their business ideas and connect with mentors.

Related Terms: Accelerator, Startup Ecosystem, Entrepreneurship

Startup Studio

A Startup Studio is an organization that systematically creates or develops multiple startups using shared resources, teams, technology, expertise, and capital.

Example: A startup studio identifies a market opportunity, builds an initial product, and creates a new company around it.

Related Terms: Venture Studio, Startup Builder, Entrepreneurship

Startup Builder

A Startup Builder is an organization or approach focused on creating startups from ideas by providing resources such as product development, technology, talent, marketing, and capital.

Example: A venture-building organization develops several businesses using a shared internal team.

Related Terms: Startup Studio, Venture Studio, Incubator

Startup Community

A Startup Community is a network of founders, entrepreneurs, investors, mentors, employees, students, professionals, and organizations connected through entrepreneurship and innovation.

Example: A local founder community organizes networking events, startup discussions, workshops, and investor sessions.

Related Terms: Startup Ecosystem, Founder Network, Entrepreneurship

Startup Culture

Startup Culture refers to the shared values, behaviors, working practices, and attitudes that shape how a startup operates.

Example: A startup may emphasize experimentation, ownership, transparency, speed, and customer focus.

Related Terms: Company Culture, Leadership, Organizational Culture

Startup Debt

Startup Debt refers to borrowed capital used by a startup to finance operations, equipment, growth, or other business requirements.

It may include venture debt, bank loans, working-capital facilities, or other forms of borrowing.

Example: A startup uses debt financing to purchase equipment without immediately issuing additional equity.

Related Terms: Venture Debt, Debt Financing, Equity Financing

Startup Grant

A Startup Grant is funding provided to an eligible startup without the same repayment structure as a conventional loan, usually subject to specific eligibility and usage conditions.

Grants may be offered by governments, universities, foundations, corporations, or other organizations.

Example: A deep-tech startup receives a grant to support research and prototype development.

Related Terms: Government Grant, Non-Dilutive Funding, Startup Funding

Startup Incubation

Startup Incubation is the process of supporting an early-stage startup through resources such as mentorship, infrastructure, training, networking, and business guidance.

Example: An incubator helps founders validate their idea, develop an MVP, and connect with potential investors.

Related Terms: Incubator, Startup Accelerator, Mentorship

Startup Pitch

A Startup Pitch is a concise presentation in which founders explain their business idea, problem, solution, market opportunity, business model, traction, team, and funding requirements.

Example: A founder presents a 10-slide pitch deck to investors during a fundraising meeting.

Related Terms: Pitch Deck, Fundraising, Investor Pitch

Startup Pitch Deck

A Startup Pitch Deck is a presentation used to communicate a startup’s business and investment opportunity to potential investors or other stakeholders.

Typical sections include the problem, solution, market, product, business model, traction, competition, team, financials, and funding requirements.

Related Terms: Pitch, Investor Deck, Fundraising

Startup Traction

Startup Traction refers to measurable evidence that a startup’s product or business is gaining market acceptance.

Traction can include revenue, customers, users, retention, partnerships, transaction volume, or other relevant indicators.

Example: A startup demonstrates traction by growing from 500 to 5,000 paying customers within a year.

Related Terms: Product-Market Fit, Growth, Startup Metrics

Strategic Planning

Strategic Planning is the process of defining a company’s long-term direction, priorities, goals, and actions.

Example: A startup creates a three-year strategy focused on expanding its product, entering new markets, and improving profitability.

Related Terms: Business Strategy, Roadmap, OKRs

Strategic Objective

A Strategic Objective is a major goal that supports a company’s broader business strategy.

Example: Increasing enterprise revenue by 50% within two years can be a strategic objective.

Related Terms: Strategic Planning, KPI, OKR

Supply Chain

A Supply Chain is the network of suppliers, manufacturers, logistics providers, distributors, and other participants involved in producing and delivering a product.

Example: A consumer startup manages suppliers, manufacturing partners, warehouses, and delivery providers as part of its supply chain.

Related Terms: Logistics, Procurement, Operations

Supply Chain Management

Supply Chain Management involves planning and managing the movement of materials, products, information, and related activities from suppliers to customers.

Example: An e-commerce startup uses inventory forecasting and supplier management to avoid stockouts.

Related Terms: Supply Chain, Inventory Management, Logistics

Supply-Side Platform (SSP)

A Supply-Side Platform (SSP) is technology used by publishers or digital media owners to manage and sell advertising inventory through automated advertising systems.

Example: A digital publisher uses an SSP to make its available advertising space accessible to advertisers through programmatic platforms.

Related Terms: AdTech, Demand-Side Platform, Programmatic Advertising

Sales Velocity

Sales Velocity measures how quickly a sales pipeline can generate revenue.

A commonly used framework considers the number of opportunities, average deal value, conversion rate, and sales cycle length.

A simplified formula is:

Sales Velocity = Opportunities × Average Deal Value × Win Rate ÷ Sales Cycle Length

Example: A B2B startup increases sales velocity by generating more qualified opportunities and shortening the sales cycle.

Related Terms: Sales Pipeline, Conversion Rate, Sales Cycle

Sales Operations

Sales Operations is the function responsible for improving sales processes, systems, reporting, forecasting, territory planning, and operational efficiency.

Example: A sales operations team manages the CRM, sales dashboards, forecasting process, and territory assignments.

Related Terms: RevOps, CRM, Sales Enablement

Sales Performance

Sales Performance measures how effectively a sales team or individual achieves defined sales objectives.

Common measures include revenue, quota attainment, win rate, average deal size, and sales cycle length.

Example: A company evaluates its sales team’s quarterly performance against revenue and quota targets.

Related Terms: Sales KPI, Quota Attainment, Sales Productivity

Sales Productivity

Sales Productivity measures how effectively sales representatives use their time and resources to generate sales results.

Example: Automating administrative work allows sales representatives to spend more time speaking with qualified prospects.

Related Terms: Sales Operations, Sales Enablement, Sales Performance

Segmentation

Segmentation is the process of dividing a broad market, customer base, or audience into smaller groups with similar characteristics or needs.

Example: A startup segments customers by industry, company size, location, and buying behavior.

Related Terms: Customer Segmentation, Market Segmentation, Target Market

Serviceable Market

A Serviceable Market refers to the portion of a broader market that a company can realistically serve based on its product, geography, resources, and business model.

Example: A food-delivery startup operating only in selected Indian cities has a serviceable market limited to those locations and customer segments.

Related Terms: TAM, SAM, SOM, Target Market

Solution Selling

Solution Selling is a sales approach that focuses on understanding a customer’s problem and presenting a product or service as a solution to that problem.

Example: Instead of simply selling software features, a salesperson demonstrates how the product can reduce a customer’s operational costs.

Related Terms: Consultative Selling, B2B Sales, Value Proposition

Subscription Economy

The Subscription Economy refers to a business environment in which customers increasingly pay recurring fees for ongoing access to products or services.

Example: Software, entertainment, education, fitness, and consumer products can all operate through subscription models.

Related Terms: Subscription Model, SaaS, Recurring Revenue

Sustainable Growth

Sustainable Growth is growth that a company can maintain over time without creating unacceptable financial, operational, customer, or organizational problems.

Example: A startup prioritizes healthy retention and improving unit economics rather than pursuing customer growth entirely through heavy discounts.

Related Terms: Sustainable Business, Profitability, Unit Economics

Sustainable Business Model

A Sustainable Business Model is a business model designed to create long-term economic value while managing its financial, operational, social, or environmental impact.

Example: A company develops a profitable product while building efficient operations and reducing unnecessary resource consumption.

Related Terms: Business Model, Sustainability, Impact Business

Social Impact

Social Impact refers to the positive or negative effect an organization has on people or communities.

Example: An education startup measures how many students gain access to affordable learning resources through its platform.

Related Terms: Social Entrepreneurship, Impact Startup, ESG

Social Enterprise

A Social Enterprise is an organization that uses business activities to address a social or environmental problem while pursuing financial sustainability.

Example: A company sells affordable healthcare products while using its business model to improve access for underserved communities.

Related Terms: Social Entrepreneurship, Impact Startup, Sustainability

Software Development Kit (SDK)

A Software Development Kit (SDK) is a collection of tools, libraries, documentation, and other resources that developers can use to build applications for a particular platform or service.

Example: A fintech startup provides an SDK that allows other companies to integrate its payment technology into their applications.

Related Terms: API, Developer Tools, Software Development

Software as a Service (SaaS)

Software as a Service (SaaS) is a software delivery model in which customers access applications over the internet, commonly through recurring subscriptions.

Example: A startup provides cloud-based CRM software that businesses access through a web browser.

Related Terms: SaaS, Cloud Computing, Subscription Model

Software Licensing

Software Licensing defines the legal terms under which software can be used, distributed, modified, or accessed.

Example: A startup licenses its proprietary software to businesses under an annual commercial agreement.

Related Terms: Intellectual Property, SaaS, Licensing

Service Level Agreement (SLA)

A Service Level Agreement (SLA) is an agreement that defines expected service standards between a service provider and customer.

It may specify availability, response times, support obligations, and remedies for certain failures.

Example: A cloud provider agrees to maintain a specified service availability level for an enterprise customer.

Related Terms: SLA, Customer Success, Service Reliability

System Integration

System Integration is the process of connecting different software systems, applications, databases, or technologies so they can exchange information or work together.

Example: A startup integrates its CRM with its accounting and payment systems.

Related Terms: API, Integration, Automation

Supply and Demand

Supply and Demand describes the relationship between the amount of a product or service available and the amount customers want to purchase.

Changes in supply and demand can influence pricing, availability, and market conditions.

Example: A sudden increase in demand for a product while supply remains limited can put upward pressure on prices.

Related Terms: Market Demand, Pricing, Market Economics

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