Startup Glossary: Letter "M"

A Management Fee is a recurring fee paid to fund managers to cover operational expenses such as salaries, travel, and deal sourcing, typically calculated as a percentage of committed capital.

Marketing-Led Growth is a business model where content marketing, advertising, and brand building drive lead generation and customer acquisition.

Material Adverse Effect (MAE) is a contract clause defining significant negative events that allow a party to terminate an investment or acquisition agreement before closing.

Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) is the consolidated business area covering the consolidation of startup companies through mergers, purchases, or asset acquisitions.

Mezzanine Financing is a hybrid form of capital that combines features of both debt and equity, typically used by late-stage companies to fund specific expansions.

A Micro VC is a venture capital fund with a relatively small pool of capital (typically under $50M), focused primarily on pre-seed and seed-stage investments.

A Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is the simplest usable version of a new product that allows a startup to collect the maximum amount of validated customer feedback with the least effort.

Monthly Active Users (MAU) is a product engagement metric measuring the number of unique users who interact with a product within a 30-day window.

Monthly Billing is a contract structure where customers pay for service on a month-to-month basis, providing flexibility to cancel at any time.

MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue) is the total amount of predictable subscription revenue a startup expects to receive each month.

Multiple on Invested Capital (MOIC) is a performance metric that compares the total value of an investment (realized returns + current value) to the initial cost of the investment.