WV Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Glossary

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Showing 76 of 76 terms

A

Accelerator: A fixed-term, cohort-based program that supports early-stage startups with mentorship, education, and often a small seed investment in exchange for equity.
Accredited Investor: An individual or entity meeting SEC income or net-worth thresholds, eligible to invest in private securities offerings like most WV angel and venture deals.
ACH (Automated Clearing House): The U.S. electronic network for bank-to-bank transfers, commonly used by small businesses for payroll, vendor payments, and recurring customer billing.
Angel Investor: An affluent individual who provides early-stage capital to startups, typically in exchange for equity or convertible debt.
AR / AP (Accounts Receivable / Accounts Payable): AR is money customers owe the business; AP is money the business owes suppliers. Both are core working-capital line items.
ARC (Appalachian Regional Commission): A federal-state partnership that invests in economic development across Appalachia, including grants and infrastructure support for WV communities and businesses.
ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue): The value of recurring subscription revenue normalized to a one-year period; a key SaaS growth metric.

B

B Corp: A private certification for for-profit companies meeting standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.
Benefit Corporation: A legal for-profit entity type (recognized in many states) that includes a stated public benefit purpose alongside shareholder returns.
Bootstrapping: Building a company using personal savings and revenue rather than outside investment.
Bridge Loan: Short-term financing used to cover a gap between now and a future event, such as a larger equity round or receivable.
Burn Rate: The rate at which a company spends cash each month above its revenue, used to project runway.
Business Model Canvas: A one-page visual template describing a venture's value proposition, customers, channels, revenue, and cost structure.

C

C Corporation (C-Corp): A legal entity taxed separately from its owners; the standard structure for venture-backed startups because it supports multiple share classes.
CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost): The average cost to acquire one paying customer, calculated as sales & marketing spend divided by new customers in a period.
Cap Table: A ledger of a company's securities showing who owns what — common stock, preferred stock, options, warrants, and convertibles.
CDFI (Community Development Financial Institution): A mission-driven lender certified by the U.S. Treasury that provides financing to underserved small businesses and communities, including in rural WV.
COGS (Cost of Goods Sold): The direct costs of producing goods or services sold by a company; subtracted from revenue to calculate gross profit.
Convertible Note: A short-term debt instrument that converts into equity — typically at the next priced round — commonly used in seed-stage financing.
Crowdfunding: Raising small amounts of capital from many people, usually online. Includes rewards-based (Kickstarter) and equity crowdfunding (Reg CF).

D

DBA (Doing Business As): A registered trade name that lets a business operate under a name different from its legal entity name. Filed in WV with the Secretary of State.
Debt Financing: Raising capital by borrowing money that must be repaid with interest, without giving up ownership.
Dilution: The reduction in existing owners' ownership percentages when new shares are issued, typically during a funding round.
Due Diligence: The investigation an investor, lender, or buyer performs on a company's financials, legal status, and operations before closing a deal.

E

EBITDA: Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization — a proxy for operating cash flow used to compare profitability across companies.
EDA (Economic Development Administration): A U.S. Department of Commerce agency that provides grants to regions facing economic distress, supporting entrepreneurship and job creation.
EIN (Employer Identification Number): A federal tax ID number issued by the IRS to businesses, required to hire employees, open a business bank account, and file taxes.
Equity Financing: Raising capital by selling ownership stakes in the company, typically shares of stock or LLC membership interests.
Exit: The event that lets founders and investors realize a return, usually through an acquisition or initial public offering (IPO).

F

Freemium: A pricing model offering a free basic tier alongside paid premium tiers to drive user adoption and upsell.

G

Grant: Non-repayable funds awarded by government agencies, foundations, or corporations to support specific projects or ventures.
Gross Margin: Revenue minus COGS, expressed as a percentage — indicates how efficiently a company turns sales into gross profit.

I

Incubator: A program providing early-stage startups with workspace, mentorship, and resources over an extended period to help them become viable.
IPO (Initial Public Offering): The first sale of a private company's stock to the public, converting it into a publicly traded corporation.
IRR (Internal Rate of Return): The annualized rate of return that makes the net present value of an investment's cash flows equal to zero.

K

KPI (Key Performance Indicator): A quantifiable measure used to evaluate progress against a specific business objective.

L

LLC (Limited Liability Company): A common WV business structure that combines pass-through taxation with limited personal liability for owners (members).
LOI (Letter of Intent): A non-binding document outlining the main terms of a proposed deal — often a precursor to a purchase agreement or term sheet.
LTV (Customer Lifetime Value): The total revenue a business expects from a single customer over the duration of the relationship. Compared to CAC to gauge unit economics.

M

Microloan: A small loan (typically under $50,000) from an SBA intermediary or CDFI aimed at startups and small businesses that can't access conventional bank credit.
MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue): The predictable monthly revenue from active subscriptions; the monthly counterpart to ARR.
MVP (Minimum Viable Product): The simplest version of a product that can be released to validate assumptions and learn from real users.

N

NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement): A contract requiring the parties to keep specified information confidential — commonly used in partner, hire, and investor conversations.
Non-Dilutive Funding: Capital that doesn't require giving up ownership, including grants, SBIR/STTR awards, and most forms of debt.
Nonprofit (501(c)(3)): A tax-exempt organization under IRS section 501(c)(3), operated for charitable, educational, or similar purposes; profits cannot be distributed to owners.

O

Opportunity Zone: A federally designated economically distressed community where qualifying investments may receive preferential capital gains tax treatment. WV has many designated zones.

P

P&L (Profit and Loss Statement): A financial statement summarizing revenues, costs, and expenses over a period to show net profit or loss.
Pitch Deck: A short slide presentation used to communicate a startup's opportunity, product, team, and financials to investors.
Pivot: A significant change in a startup's strategy — product, market, or business model — in response to learning or feedback.
Pre-Money / Post-Money Valuation: Pre-money is a company's valuation before an investment; post-money adds the new investment. Together they determine investor ownership percentage.
Preferred Stock: A share class typically issued to investors that carries preferences over common stock — such as liquidation priority and anti-dilution rights.
Product-Market Fit: The degree to which a product satisfies strong market demand — a key milestone before scaling.

R

Registered Agent: A person or service designated to receive legal documents on behalf of a business. Required for every WV LLC and corporation.
ROI (Return on Investment): A performance measure comparing gain from an investment to its cost, usually expressed as a percentage.
Runway: The number of months a startup can operate at current burn rate before running out of cash.

S

S Corporation (S-Corp): A tax election that lets a qualifying corporation or LLC pass income directly to shareholders, avoiding double taxation at the entity level.
SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity): An investment instrument popularized by Y Combinator that converts to equity at a future priced round, without interest or a maturity date.
SBA (U.S. Small Business Administration): The federal agency that supports small businesses through loan guarantee programs, contracting assistance, disaster relief, and local SBDC counseling.
SBA Loan: A loan partially guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (e.g., 7(a) or 504), enabling banks to lend to small businesses on favorable terms.
SBDC (Small Business Development Center): A nationwide network, hosted by universities and funded in part by the SBA, that provides free counseling and low-cost training to small businesses.
SBIR / STTR: Federal Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs providing non-dilutive R&D grants and contracts to small companies.
Seed Round: An early equity financing round used to validate a product and reach initial traction, typically before a Series A.
Series A / B / C: Sequential priced equity rounds. Series A funds scaling a validated model; B and C fund market expansion and later-stage growth.
Sole Proprietorship: The simplest business structure — one owner, no separate legal entity. Income is reported on the owner's personal tax return and personal liability is unlimited.

T

TAM / SAM / SOM: Total Addressable Market, Serviceable Addressable Market, and Serviceable Obtainable Market — nested estimates of market opportunity used in pitch decks.
Term Sheet: A non-binding document outlining the key terms and conditions of a proposed investment.

U

Unicorn: A privately held startup valued at over $1 billion.
Unit Economics: The direct revenues and costs associated with a single unit — like a customer or transaction — used to evaluate whether a business model can scale profitably.
USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture): A federal agency with rural development programs that offer loans and grants for agriculture, broadband, energy, and small businesses in rural WV.

V

Valuation Cap: A ceiling on the valuation at which a SAFE or convertible note converts to equity, protecting early investors from excessive dilution.
Venture Capital (VC): Institutional equity investment in high-growth startups, typically in exchange for a significant ownership stake and board involvement.
Vesting: The process by which founders or employees earn their equity over time, typically with a one-year cliff and four-year schedule.

W

Working Capital: Current assets minus current liabilities — the short-term liquidity available to fund day-to-day operations.
WVDO (West Virginia Development Office): The state agency responsible for attracting investment, supporting business retention and expansion, and marketing West Virginia to employers.
WVHub (West Virginia Community Development Hub): A statewide community development organization that helps local leaders build vibrant, inclusive economies through coaching, funding, and policy support.
WVSBDC (West Virginia Small Business Development Center): The state-level SBDC network providing free, one-on-one business consulting and training for WV entrepreneurs and small business owners.