Glossary

An angel investor is an individual who provides financial backing for small startups or entrepreneurs.

Activities are performed in a somewhat mysterious and ambiguous manner, with a serendipitous set of actions connecting that result in a surprisingly beneficial manner.

This is the practice of self-financing a business using its own capital, either through the entrepreneur's personal funds or the company's earnings.

The generation of ideas in an environment free of judgment or dissension with the goal of creating solutions, is just one of dozens of methods for coming up with new ideas.

A concise document that provides a broad overview of an entrepreneurial concept, the team members involved, the methods and reasons for executing the plans, and the justification for why they are the ones to do so.

A strategic management tool that provides a visual framework for developing, describing, and analyzing a business model. It consists of nine key components (or blocks), including value propositions, customer segments, and revenue streams, which are organized on a single page. This tool helps entrepreneurs quickly map out their business strategy and identify areas for improvement.

A formal document used for the long-range planning of a company’s operation. It typically includes background information, financial information, and a summary of the business.

A separate legal entity from its owners, paying corporate income tax, with potential for unlimited investors and perpetual existence.

The ability to develop something original, particularly an idea or a representation of an idea.

A method that focuses on designing and developing products based on customer needs. It involves an empathy-driven process to define complex problems and create solutions.

A process that significantly affects the market by making a product or service more affordable and/or accessible, so that it will be available to a much larger audience.

Divergent thinking, or lateral thinking, is about generating multiple creative solutions to the same problem.

Someone who identifies and acts on an idea or problem that no one else has identified or acted on.

An awareness and focus on identifying an opportunity through solving a problem, and a willingness to move forward to advance that idea.

An entrepreneurial venture is the creation of any business, organization, project, or operation of interest that includes a level of risk in acting on an opportunity that has not previously been established.

This analysis ultimately tests the viability of an idea, a project, or a new business.

A firm's ability to be better off than its competitors as a result of being first to market in a new product category.

Opposite of a growth mindset, this is where individuals believe their capabilities are static and unchangeable.

A business model where an individual (franchisee) operates a business under the brand and business model of a larger company (franchisor), typically with a mix of ownership benefits and obligations.

A comprehensive document that outlines a company's goals, strategies, and financial projections. It provides a detailed description of the business, including its products or services, target market, competitive landscape, and marketing and sales strategies.

The belief that one's abilities and talents can improve over time.

The purposeful process of opening up your mind to new trains of thought that branch out in all directions from a stated purpose or problem.

An innovation that modifies an existing product or service.

Any new idea, process, or product, or a change to an existing product or process that adds value to that existing product or service.

An intrapreneur is someone working in a business who receives encouragement to think like an entrepreneur and develop fresh perspectives that can lead to new ideas for the company. These workers may have more freedom, but the organization still has control over the project and takes on any associated risks.

A truly novel product, service, or process.

Free and open thinking in which established patterns of logical thought are purposefully ignored or even challenged.

Combines elements of sole proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations, offering liability protection and pass-through taxation without complex regulations.

Sometimes referred to as vertical thinking, this involves a logical, step-by-step process.

After a failure or loss, spending time looking back on the failure itself, grieving.

A statement which details why the business exists and the entrepreneur’s objectives for achieving that mission.

Formed for charitable, educational, religious, literary, or scientific purposes, exempt from state and federal income taxes, with profits directed toward charitable goals.

Determining how a problem could be translated into an opportunity to create a new venture.

A problem that people have with a product or service that might be addressed by creating a modified version that solves the problem more effectively.

A business co-owned by two or more individuals, with management, profits, and liabilities depending on the type of partnership formed.

Innovation based on a new technology, a new advancement in the field, and/or an advancement in a related field that leads to the development of a new product.

After a loss or failure, looking forward instead of focusing on things related to the failure. 

A separate entity with shareholder liability protection, avoiding double taxation by passing profits/losses through to shareholders' personal taxes.

From the TAM, you can further distill the portion of that target market that will be attracted to your business.

Someone who owns or starts a business that already has an existing model, such as a restaurant.

A social entrepreneur has an interest in solving a social, environmental, or economic problem. A social entrepreneur identifies a problem with a social or community focus, a concern for quality of life, or concern for our entire planet’s health.

An unincorporated business entity operated by a single person, simple to set up and operate, with profits/losses passing directly to the owner.

The number of potential users within your business’s sphere of influence.

The Trough of Sorrow is a feeling that entrepreneurs get where they feel burnt out, depressed feeling.