In this glossary, you will find some tools and basics to start your business.
These words are very often used in the vocabulary of startups in English-speaking countries and also in other countries such as France, as Anglicisms are very common in the entrepreneurship sector.
Bankable
adjective
A bankable startup is fundable and moneymaking. It is prone to attract investment.
Example: Investors have to find bankable projects to finance without taking too much risks.
fr: rentable
Burn rate
noun
The burn rate is the pace at which a new company is running through its startup capital ahead of it generating any positive cash flow. The burn rate is calculated in terms of the amount of cash the company is spending per month.
Example: The burn rate needs to be cut for the next months if we want to have enough money left at the end of the year.
fr: taux de combustion
Business Angels
noun
A business angel is a private individual, often with a high net-worth, and usually with business experience, who directly invests part of their assets in new and growing private businesses. Business angels can invest individually or as part of a syndicate where, most of the time, only one angel takes the lead role.
Example: For him, the business world is a well-trodden path: he is a board member of several companies and acts as a business angel.
fr: investisseur providentiel
Business traction
noun
Business traction is the progress and momentum of a startup company. It's an indicator of the startup’s growth tendencies. Traction represents the interest shown in a company's product by customers.
Example: This startup enjoys multiple sources of business traction, facilitating rapid and sustainable growth.
fr: traction
Buzz
noun
Buzz is when something material or immaterial creates an emotion, energy, excitement, or anticipation. The interaction of an audience about this emotion amplifies the phenomenon. It can be positive or negative. Buzz can be generated by intentional marketing activities, or it can be the result of an independent event that enters public awareness.
Example: There was quite a buzz when Nintendo announced its new console.
fr: engouement
Community manager
noun
A community manager is someone who builds, grows and manages online communities of a brand. His job is to make sure that a product or a company has a positive image and good relationships with its customers or followers on social media.
Example: Many social media community managers are waiting for a scandal to break out to oust competitors.
fr: gestionnaire de communauté
Executive summary
noun
The Executive Summary is a two-page synthesis of the business. It addresses the Pitch Deck content in a narrative arch that tells a story. Its purpose is to catch the interest of future investors and financial partners in order to make them read the entire business plan. As real marketing tool, it must be precise, impactful and convincing.
Example: "Can you give me the executive summary on some of the important things to know before I start reading the business plan?"
fr: résumé opérationnel
Inbound marketing
noun
The inbound marketing is the method of growing a business by building meaningful and lasting relationships with consumers by valuing them.
Example: As part as its inbound marketing strategy, Bricorama delivered tutorials on how to install its new heaters.
fr: marketing entrant
M.R.R. (Monthly Recurring Revenue)
noun
Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) is the predictable total income received each month by a company thanks to its subscription offer. It includes recurring charges from discounts, coupons, and recurring add-ons, but excludes one-time fees. It permits assessing the traction of a startup and its market value.
Example: MRR provides insights on the financial performance, which helps you determine how progressing your business is.
fr: Revenu Mensuel Récurrent
N.P.S. (Net Promoter Score)
noun
The NPS is a loyalty indicator which consists of asking customers: “How likely are you to recommend [company or brand X] to a friend or colleague?" The answer is given on a scale of 0 (“very unlikely”) to 10 (“very likely”). Then, the percentage of customers who answered 0 to 6 is subtracted from the percentage of customers who answered 9 or 10 to obtain the NPS (which is often negative).
Example: Our net promoter score remains very strong compared to the scores of the major brands with which we compete.
fr: taux de recommandation net
O.K.R. (Objectives and Key Results)
noun
OKR or “Objectives and Key Results" is a goal-setting methodology and leadership tool for communicating what you want to accomplish and what milestones you’ll need to meet in order to accomplish it. It sets challenging, ambitious goals with measurable results. OKRs track progress and encourage engagement from teams and individuals around goals.
Example: One of the company's objectives and key results is to achieve great notoriety, yet no advertising campaign has been launched for 2 months.
fr: Objectifs et Résultats Clés
Outbound marketing
noun
Outbound marketing focuses on reaching out to the public with non-targeted content to promote products or services.
Example: This company relies on a very aggressive outbound marketing, they are on TV, in our spams, and they also call at our personal cellphone.
fr: marketing sortant
Retargeting
noun
Retargeting is an online marketing technique that targets visitors to a site or web page (who have already demonstrated interest in a brand, product or service) with a campaign advertisement display.
Example: The French unicorn Criteo, a company specializing in retargeting, is used by 2.500 advertisers including La Redoute and the FNAC chain.
fr: reciblage
Runway
noun
The runway is the time during which a startup can survive before it runs out of money. It can be calculated by dividing the money you have by the monthly burn rate.
Example: The startup's runway is getting shorter because their burn rate is increasing.
fr: piste
S.E.O. (Search Engine Optimization)
noun
Search engine optimization is the process of improving your site to increase its visibility when people search for products or services related to your business in search engines.
Example: Amazon applies an advanced strategy of SEO that enable it to always be the first result on Google when you want to buy a product online.
fr: référencement naturel
Serial entrepreneur
noun
A serial entrepreneur is someone who starts multiple businesses, sells one business before starting another, or runs multiple businesses simultaneously. They are usually at the head of several bankable startups due to their experience.
Example: Oprah Winfrey is one of the most famous serial entrepreneurs in the world. She leveraged her television success to found a multi-billion dollar media empire.
fr: entrepreneur en série
Speech deck
noun
A pitch deck is a 10-20 slide presentation that actively introduces a company, an overview of its business plan, products, services and growth traction to investors or clients. It is one of the most important tools for startups seeking to attract investors.
Example: His company's speech deck failed to convince investors. As a result, he has to deal with a complicated financial situation.
fr: pont de lancement
Stand-up meeting
noun
A stand-up meeting is a meeting in which attendees participate while standing. The discomfort of standing for long periods is intended to keep the meetings short. In startups, this meeting is often daily or weekly so that the leaders inform the employees about the recent progresses of the company.
Example: "The last stand-up meeting was so long and boring that I thought my legs were going to give out. What a waste of time!"
fr: réunion debout
Startup
noun
A startup is a newly established business founded by one person or several entrepreneurs. They have a business idea and want to develop unique products or services into the market.
Example: Startups are better at introducing breakthrough products and creating new markets than their established competitors.
fr: nouvelle entreprise
Stealth mode
noun
The stealth mode is a business strategy in which a new product/service is intentionally hidden from the market (specifically in highly competitive markets), competitors or the public until a predefined or completion date.
Example: Startups put themselves in stealth mode to reduce the risk of competitors stealing their ideas.
fr: mode furtif
To disrupt
verb
To cause upheaval usually due to an innovation in an industry, market, etc.
Example: Apple disrupted the mobile phone market with the iPhone.
fr: perturber, boulverser
Unicorn
noun
The term unicorn refers to a privately held startup company with a value of over $1 billion. It is commonly used in the venture capital industry.
Example: Uber, Airbnb and Pinterest are three of the most famous unicorns in the world.
