Startup glossary

Also called startup accelerator

An accelerator is a structured, short-term program designed to speed up a startup's progress toward product-market fit, traction, fundraising, or scale.

Also called deal attribution

Attribution answers "who gets recognized for this deal, based on what contribution and evidence?"

Also called carried interest

Carry is a performance-based share of profits, not a salary and not a management fee.

Deal flow is the rate, quality, and pipeline movement of potential deals available for evaluation.

Also called startup referral

A deal referral is a startup investment opportunity passed from one person or organization to an investor, venture firm, angel, scout program, accelerator, or corporate development team.

Also called startup incubator

An incubator is a support environment for turning a nascent idea or early company into a startup that is more ready for customers, funding, or an accelerator.

Also called qualified intro

A qualified introduction is a warm introduction between a founder and an investor, scout, customer, advisor, or partner where the introducer has done enough filtering to know the connection is relevant, timely, and credible.

Also called scout economics

Scout carry is the carried-interest upside a venture scout receives for sourcing, referring, or directly investing in a startup on behalf of a venture fund.

Also called referral note

A scout note is the scout's concise investment-context note for a referred startup.

Also called VC scout program

A scout program is a structured venture-capital program that recruits external people to help a fund discover, refer, evaluate, or sometimes invest in early-stage startups.

Also called deal signal

A signal is a piece of evidence that changes how someone estimates a startup's quality, risk, momentum, or fit.

Also called angel syndicate

A syndicate is a coordinated group investment into a deal, typically led by one investor and funded by multiple backers.

A syndicate lead is the person or entity responsible for leading a deal-by-deal group investment into a startup.

Also called warm introduction

A warm intro is a relationship-based introduction where the intermediary's trust and context make the recipient more likely to pay attention.