Foundations

The foundational vocabulary every founder needs before everything else. This cluster covers what a startup actually is, the categories that distinguish them (bootstrap vs venture-backed, lifestyle vs scale-up), the support ecosystem (accelerators, incubators, agencies), the early credits and grants founders chase, and the structural concepts (founder-market fit, why startups fail) that shape every decision that follows. 21 entries.

If you're new to startup vocabulary, start here. If you're a few years in, this cluster is the conceptual baseline against which everything else is read.

What a startup is

• Startup, the foundational definition; not every small business is a startup.
• Early Stage, the spectrum from idea to product-market fit.
• Founder-Market Fit, alignment between founder background and market; the underrated investor evaluation criterion.
• Traction Startup, the moment when a startup goes from idea to measurable customer pull.

Startup categories and outcomes

• Bootstrap Startup, building without outside capital; constraints and advantages.
• Venture Backed, taking outside capital with venture-scale ambition.
• Lifestyle Business, profitable small business by design, not a venture target.
• Scale Up, the stage past startup, before mature company.
• Unicorn, the $1B+ private valuation milestone.
• Online Startup, internet-native company variants.

Support ecosystem

• Startup Accelerator, time-boxed programs (YC, Techstars) with capital + community.
• Startup Incubator, earlier-stage programs with workspace and mentorship.
• Growth Agency, outside marketing partner for scaling.
• Startup Marketing Agency, specialized marketing for startups.
• Startup Website, the table-stakes web presence.

Capital, credits, and grants

• Startup Investment, how outside capital flows in.
• Startup Launch, the GA moment after pre-launch.
• A Business Grant, non-dilutive capital and where to find it.
• AWS Credits For Startups, startup-specific infrastructure credits.
• OpenAI Startup Credits, startup-specific AI compute credits.

Why startups don't make it

• Why Startups Fail, the most-cited failure modes and how to avoid them.