Startup Week 2016: 5 Startup Buzzwords You Need to Know

These terms will make you sound like a seasoned entrepreneur

Whether you’re new to the startup game or looking to keep up with the big players, the following list of startup terminology can help you quickly expand your vocab. But be careful not to overuse it—knowing when not to drop a buzzword is arguably one of the more valuable talents in the game.

We asked Derric Haynie, Head of Growth at Rebrandly.com, which buzzwords new entrepreneurs absolutely need to know. For even more business lingo, catch Derric’s “Hello, (Startup) World!” talk at San Diego Startup Week on Monday, June 13.

MVP – Minimum Viable Product

“If you’re building a car, this doesn’t mean you make the chassis, which is a nonfunctional piece of the whole. It means you make a skateboard—a simpler version that solves the same problem. You don’t need all the bells and whistles, just enough to provide value.”

Traction

“Got 10 new users? You could say you’ve got traction. Great traction means you’re getting more users this week than you did last week, and some of them are sticking around, but you’ve still got many people leaving and aren’t hitting exponential growth. You’re fighting an uphill battle, but you’re winning. Remember, total signups always go up over time, but monthly active users do not.”

Product Market Fit

“When you have a product so valuable that your users stick around and invite others to use the product as well. This is what leads to ‘hockey-stick,’ or exponential, growth.”

Lean Startup Methodology

“This doesn’t mean cheap, this means validated learning. Uncovering what your customers actually want, only building enough to test, and iterating over and over again forever. Big companies can use this methodology, small companies, startups, anyone. It’s a system for failing fast so you can win big.”

User Experience

“Sometimes called UX and closely associated with User Interface— UI. There is a key difference, though. UI is how you build the app; UX is how people actually use the app. Think about the walkways at your local college campus. Straight concrete paths intersecting grassy areas, designed to walk on—yet people walk on the grass to cut corners. Cutting corners is the UX. Figure out what your users experience and build your interface to compensate.”

Tweet Derric at @SixPeppers to share more of your favorite buzz words.