Startup Acronyms: The Founder & Operator Glossary

Every startup acronym founders, operators and early hires need — from fundraising and metrics to go-to-market and product.

The startup world runs on its own dialect. MVP, PMF, TAM, SAM, SOM, SAFE, ARR, GTM, PLG, OTE — most of it is shorthand someone learned at their last company and never had explained.

This page is the startup acronyms reference for founders, operators and early hires: the terms that actually come up in fundraising calls, GTM reviews and product strategy sessions. Click any term for the full definition, a real-world example, and how it shows up in meetings.

The list — 36 acronyms

• B2B — Business to Business
• B2C — Business to Consumer
• Burn Multiple — Burn Multiple
• Burn Rate — Monthly Cash Burn
• Cap Table — Capitalization Table
• Dilution — Ownership Reduction
• DTC — Direct to Consumer
• GTM — Go-To-Market
• ICE — Impact, Confidence, Ease
• ICP — Ideal Customer Profile (deep dive)
• JTBD — Jobs To Be Done
• KPI — Key Performance Indicator
• MVP — Minimum Viable Product
• NSM — North Star Metric
• OKR — Objectives and Key Results
• OTE — On-Target Earnings
• PESTLE — Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, Environmental
• PLG — Product-Led Growth
• PMF — Product-Market Fit
• PMO — Project Management Office
• POC — Proof of Concept
• Pre-Seed — Pre-Seed Funding
• QBR — Quarterly Business Review
• RACI — Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed
• RICE — Reach, Impact, Confidence, Effort
• Runway — Months of Survival
• SaaS — Software as a Service
• SAFE — Simple Agreement for Future Equity
• SAM — Serviceable Available Market
• Seed — Seed Funding
• Series A — Series A Funding
• SLG — Sales-Led Growth
• SOM — Serviceable Obtainable Market
• SPIFF — Sales Performance Incentive Fund
• SWOT — Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats
• TAM — Total Addressable Market