Startup Glossary

Penny Stocks are shares of small public companies traded at low prices per share, often considered highly speculative and risky.

Performance Benchmarking is the process of comparing a company`s performance metrics to industry standards or best practices to identify areas for improvement.

Performance Metrics are specific measures used to quantitatively gauge the performance of a business, project, or individual in achieving objectives.

A Performance Milestone refers to specific goals or achievements that a startup must reach, often tied to funding tranches or other contractual obligations.

Perpetuity is a financial term describing an annuity that has no end, or a stream of cash flows that continues forever.

Phantom Equity is a non-traditional form of employee compensation that provides rights to the value of shares, such as stock options, but does not confer actual equity ownership in the company.

Phantom Stock is a form of long-term incentive plan used by businesses to award employees with the benefits of stock ownership without giving them any actual stock.

In the startup and venture capital context, the Pipeline refers to the flow of potential deals or investment opportunities currently being considered or in progress.

A Pitch Competition is an event where entrepreneurs present their business ideas to a panel of judges to win funding, support, and feedback on their business model.

A Pitch Deck is a brief presentation used by startups to provide investors with a quick overview of the business plan, team, and financial projections.

Pitching Events are organized gatherings where startups present their business ideas to potential investors, partners, and clients, aiming to secure funding or strategic relationships.

A Pivot refers to a strategic shift in a startup`s business model, product offering, or target market in response to feedback, market demand, or the realization of a more viable opportunity.

Platform as a Service (PaaS) is a cloud computing model that provides customers a platform allowing them to develop, run, and manage applications without the complexity of building and maintaining the infrastructure typically associated with developing and launching an app.

Platform Integration refers to the process of combining and enabling interoperability between various software platforms, enhancing functionality and user experience.

A Pledge Agreement is a legal document in which a borrower pledges certain assets as collateral to secure a loan, giving the lender rights to the collateral in the event of default.

A Pledge Fund is an investment model where investors commit capital to a fund but have the discretion to choose which specific deals they invest in.

The Pledge Model is a fundraising strategy where potential donors pledge to give a certain amount of money towards a project if certain conditions are met.

A Portfolio Company is a company or entity in which a venture capital firm, private equity firm, or investment fund has invested.

Portfolio Diversification is an investment strategy that spreads investments across various financial instruments, industries, and other categories to reduce risk.

Portfolio Optimization is the process of selecting the best portfolio (asset distribution), out of the set of all portfolios being considered, according to some objective.