Startup Glossary: Letter "B"

A Bad Leaver is a founder or employee who leaves a startup under unfavorable conditions, which usually forces them to forfeit unvested and/or vested shares.

Billings is the actual cash value invoiced to customers during a period, representing cash flow collections.

A Board Observer is a non-voting representative who is granted the right to attend Board of Directors meetings and receive all corporate materials.

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

The Board of Directors is an elected body of individuals that represents the interests of shareholders, oversees the executive team, and votes on major corporate decisions.

A Board Resolution is a formal, written corporate document recording a vote or decision made by the Board of Directors.

A Board Seat is a formal position on a startup's Board of Directors, giving the individual voting rights over major corporate decisions, executive hiring, and fundraising.

Bookings represent the total contractual value of newly signed customer agreements, indicating future revenue potential.

Bootstrapping is the practice of building and growing a startup using only personal savings and initial sales revenue, without raising external venture capital.

Bottom-Up Forecasting is a projection method that builds revenue estimates from the ground up, using metrics like conversion rates and sales capacity.

The Break-Even Point is the stage where a startup's total revenues equal its total expenses, resulting in zero net profit or loss.

Bridge Financing is short-term funding raised by a startup to maintain operations until it secures a larger institutional round or reaches profitability.

A Bridge Round is a temporary funding round raised by a startup to extend its runway until it raises a larger institutional round.

Burn Multiple is a metric that evaluates a startup's efficiency by comparing its net burn rate to its net new ARR generation.

Burn Rate is the rate at which a startup spends its cash reserves, typically measured on a monthly basis.