Startup Founders

Casual observers view all promotion as marketing, but insiders use "growth hacking" to describe rapid, data-driven techniques for user acquisition and retention.

While outsiders imagine a formal business plan document, startup founders typically rely on a concise visual "pitch deck" to communicate their business idea to investors.

Outsiders refer to investment in general as funding, whereas insiders specifically talk about "raising a round" to denote discrete, organized investment events.

General public calls any group gathering a meeting, while founders often hold quick daily "stand-ups" to sync progress and blockers.

While an outsider calls any new company a startup, insiders reserve "unicorn" for privately held startups valued at over one billion dollars, a coveted milestone.

Outsiders focus on the idea stage alone, whereas founders emphasize building an "MVP" to test assumptions quickly in the market.

Non-members think of traditional office space, while startup insiders usually work in flexible, shared "co-working spaces" fostering community and collaboration.

Outside observers might call startup leaders "bosses," but founders prefer "Founder-CEO" highlighting their dual role as originators and executive managers.

To outsiders these people are simply employees, but founders think of them as "team members," emphasizing a collaborative, mission-driven culture.

Outsiders call the people who pay for or use the product customers, but founders often say "users" reflecting a focus on the engagement and feedback from the product's audience, even if they don’t pay.