4 ms·

Related: is there some reliable "startup jargon for dummies" page somewhere? I'm often confused with all the talk of rounds, vesting, dilution, and whatnot. I k

Related: is there some reliable "startup jargon for dummies" page somewhere? I'm often confused with all the talk of rounds, vesting, dilution, and whatnot. I know there are books, but I'm not planning to get into the startup scene; buying a book doesn't seem worth it to be slightly less confused on a website I waste lots of time on.

ohitsdom 11y ago
I second this request. Google took me to investopedia to learn "pro rata", but that wasn't as helpful as reading these comments. The startup community has so many buzzwords. My understanding of the jargon has increased a lot in the past year I've spent time on the site, but I still don't know much.
- jsprogrammer 11y ago
  Round: Some people are purchasing shares of your company. Given cute names to indicate how many "rounds" you've done: Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C, Series D, Series E, etc Vesting: When you actually get the shares (instead of just being promised you'll receive them) Dilution: When the pool of shares expands without the existing shareholders receiving a commensurate proportion of the new shares (used to transfer value from existing shareholders to new). Usually occurs after each Round completes.
spydum 11y ago
literally query that search phrase, and the top 5-10 sites answer your question https://www.google.com/?q=startup%20jargon%20for%20dummies https://www.google.com/?q=startup%20jargon%20for%20dummies
- theOnliest 11y ago
  I've done that, but I was more wondering if there was some place (a blog series or something) that people here would actually recommend. The top hits are all just lists with single terms like "B-to-C" and the like. They're fine if I need to know a single term, but don't really explain much else. For example: this article (http://www.techrepublic.com/article/glossary-startup-and-venture-capital-terms-you-should-know/ http://www.techrepublic.com/article/glossary-startup-and-ven...), gives the definition for "preferred stock" (a random selection) as "stock that carries a fixed dividend that is to be paid out before dividends carried by common stock." As someone not in the startup business (and not knowing much about finance in general), this is not really helpful. I'm not sure what it means for a dividend to be fixed, nor is there a definition of "common stock" anywhere. I realize this isn't really the right thread to ask, but these things come up all the time so it seems like there might be a respectable reference somewhere online.
  - spydum 11y ago
    I get your meaning now, fair enough. I think most of what you are interested in are financial/accounting terms, I don't know how specific they are to startups, other than most startups are built upon promises of finances. How about http://www.accountingcoach.com/stockholders-equity/explanation/1 http://www.accountingcoach.com/stockholders-equity/explanati...
ttruong 11y ago
Venture Deals by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson: http://www.amazon.com/Venture-Deals-Smarter-Lawyer-Capitalist/dp/1118443616 http://www.amazon.com/Venture-Deals-Smarter-Lawyer-Capitalis...
gsharma 11y ago
http://venturehacks.com/ http://venturehacks.com/ It doesn't get updated anymore, but I think it should have a lot of the basic venture concepts here.
chrdlu 11y ago
http://www.amazon.com/Maxims-Morals-Metaphors-Venture-Capital/dp/1427631271 http://www.amazon.com/Maxims-Morals-Metaphors-Venture-Capita... If you're looking for a really short book with a good explanation of the entire process. The cover is a bit funny as the book is a bit old, but the information inside is still very applicable. Edit: The content is much more about the sayings and metaphors used within venture capital. It will complement the other suggestions nicely!

ohitsdom 11y ago

I second this request. Google took me to investopedia to learn "pro rata", but that wasn't as helpful as reading these comments. The startup community has so many buzzwords. My understanding of the jargon has increased a lot in the past year I've spent time on the site, but I still don't know much.

jsprogrammer 11y ago
Round: Some people are purchasing shares of your company. Given cute names to indicate how many "rounds" you've done: Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C, Series D, Series E, etc Vesting: When you actually get the shares (instead of just being promised you'll receive them) Dilution: When the pool of shares expands without the existing shareholders receiving a commensurate proportion of the new shares (used to transfer value from existing shareholders to new). Usually occurs after each Round completes.

spydum 11y ago

literally query that search phrase, and the top 5-10 sites answer your question https://www.google.com/?q=startup%20jargon%20for%20dummies https://www.google.com/?q=startup%20jargon%20for%20dummies

theOnliest 11y ago
I've done that, but I was more wondering if there was some place (a blog series or something) that people here would actually recommend. The top hits are all just lists with single terms like "B-to-C" and the like. They're fine if I need to know a single term, but don't really explain much else. For example: this article (http://www.techrepublic.com/article/glossary-startup-and-venture-capital-terms-you-should-know/ http://www.techrepublic.com/article/glossary-startup-and-ven...), gives the definition for "preferred stock" (a random selection) as "stock that carries a fixed dividend that is to be paid out before dividends carried by common stock." As someone not in the startup business (and not knowing much about finance in general), this is not really helpful. I'm not sure what it means for a dividend to be fixed, nor is there a definition of "common stock" anywhere. I realize this isn't really the right thread to ask, but these things come up all the time so it seems like there might be a respectable reference somewhere online.
- spydum 11y ago
  I get your meaning now, fair enough. I think most of what you are interested in are financial/accounting terms, I don't know how specific they are to startups, other than most startups are built upon promises of finances. How about http://www.accountingcoach.com/stockholders-equity/explanation/1 http://www.accountingcoach.com/stockholders-equity/explanati...

ttruong 11y ago

Venture Deals by Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson: http://www.amazon.com/Venture-Deals-Smarter-Lawyer-Capitalist/dp/1118443616 http://www.amazon.com/Venture-Deals-Smarter-Lawyer-Capitalis...

gsharma 11y ago

http://venturehacks.com/ http://venturehacks.com/ It doesn't get updated anymore, but I think it should have a lot of the basic venture concepts here.

chrdlu 11y ago

http://www.amazon.com/Maxims-Morals-Metaphors-Venture-Capital/dp/1427631271 http://www.amazon.com/Maxims-Morals-Metaphors-Venture-Capita... If you're looking for a really short book with a good explanation of the entire process. The cover is a bit funny as the book is a bit old, but the information inside is still very applicable. Edit: The content is much more about the sayings and metaphors used within venture capital. It will complement the other suggestions nicely!