In just a few weeks, I’m going to see my mom for the holidays. While I’ve been in the startup world for over a decade now, I know my mom (and many of my friends) have no idea about all of the startup jargon we throw around, especially when it comes to the type of support startups can receive. Words like accelerator, incubator, venture studio, and others are terms that sound the same or are very confusing. And my mom and friends aren’t the only ones who are confused. Even GAN’s Advisory Board has asked us to define certain terminology at various points in our meetings. Not because they’re not well aware of the lingo, but because things change every day and two people who use the same word can often mean different things.
So, I thought it might be helpful — for my mom and yours — if I put together a “startup support terminology guide.”
I’ll continue building on this over the coming weeks, but I at least wanted to get a start here, before the holidays. The caveat, of course, is that this is just my own interpretation of these terms and, any time you provide quick explanations of anything, you give up a lot of nuances. With that in mind, are there variations here? Sure. Might someone else describe them a different way? Absolutely. But, here’s my quick take.
