Startup Glossary: Letter "A"

An Accelerator is a fixed-term, cohort-based program that supports early-stage startups through mentoring, education, and seed investments.

Accounts Payable (AP) is the amount of money a startup owes to suppliers, vendors, or service providers for purchases made on credit.

Accounts Receivable (AR) is the amount of money owed to a startup by customers for products or services delivered but not yet paid.

Accounts Receivable Factoring is a financial transaction where a startup sells its unpaid customer invoices to a third-party financial company at a discount to receive immediate cash.

An Accredited Investor is a high-net-worth individual or institutional investor who meets specific financial criteria set by regulatory bodies.

Accrual Accounting is an accounting method where revenues and expenses are recorded when they are incurred, regardless of when cash changes hands.

An Acquisition occurs when a larger corporation purchases a startup, absorbing its assets, technology, talent, and customer base.

An Activation Milestone is the specific moment or action when a new user first experiences the core value of a product.

Activation Rate is the percentage of newly registered users who complete a milestone that represents their first experience of product value (the 'Aha' moment).

An Advisory Board is an informal body of industry experts who provide advice, mentorship, and networking contacts to founders without corporate voting rights.

Advisory Shares are stock options granted to startup advisors and mentors in exchange for strategic advice, industry introductions, and expertise.

Agile Methodology is an iterative project management and software development framework that emphasizes flexibility, collaboration, and rapid feedback cycles.

An Alternative Investment is any asset class outside of traditional public equities, bonds, and cash, including venture capital, private equity, and real estate.

An Angel Investor is a high-net-worth individual who provides early-stage capital to startups, typically using their personal funds.

An Angel Syndicate is a group of individual angel investors who pool their capital together to invest in a single startup under a single legal entity (typically an SPV).

Annual Billing is a contract structure where customers pay for a full year of service upfront, typically in exchange for a pricing discount.

Annual Contract Value (ACV) is the average annual revenue value generated by a single customer contract, excluding one-time fees.

An Anti-Dilution Provision is a contract clause that protects early investors from dilution if the startup issues shares at a lower valuation in subsequent rounds.

ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue) is a key metric for subscription-based businesses representing the predictable recurring revenue generated by active customers over a year.

Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) is the amount of revenue generated by an active customer account over a specific timeframe (usually monthly or annually).

Average Selling Price (ASP) is the average price at which a startup sells its product or service to new customers during a given period.