Startup glossary

Plain language definitions of the startup terms every non-technical founder hears. No jargon, just clear explanations and concrete examples.

SaaSSoftware you rent online instead of buying once. Users pay every month or every year to access it.MVPThe smallest version of your product that real people can use. Just enough to test if your idea works.MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue)The predictable revenue your business gets every month from subscriptions.ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue)The same idea as MRR but seen over a full year. Your monthly recurring revenue times twelve.ChurnThe percentage of customers who stop paying you each month.RunwayHow many months your business can survive before running out of money.PivotChanging direction with your startup when the current path is not working.TractionProof that real people want your product. Users, revenue, growth.PMF (Product-Market Fit)The moment when your product really fits a market. People want it, use it, and tell others.BootstrapBuilding a startup with your own money and the revenue from your customers. No outside investors.Burn rateHow much money your business loses each month.CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)How much money you spend to convince one person to become a paying customer.LTV (Lifetime Value)The total revenue one customer brings to your business before they leave.NPS (Net Promoter Score)A simple score that tells you how much your users would recommend your product.Lean startupA way of building startups based on small, fast experiments instead of big plans.Side projectA project you build on the side of your main job. Often the start of a real business.No-codeBuilding digital products without writing code. You use visual tools that do the work for you.Vibe codingBuilding software by describing what you want in plain language to an AI, instead of writing code yourself.AI agentA program powered by AI that can plan and execute tasks on its own, like a digital employee.Stack techniqueThe set of tools and technologies your product is built with.