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Glossary

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Accelerator
An accelerator is a hub where start-ups are given mentorship by seasoned entrepreneurs and specialists in their relevant fields, space to work on their ideas and sometimes seed capital in exchange for equity.
Acqui-hire
Acqui-hire is the process of acquiring a company primarily to recruit its employees, rather than to gain control of its products or services.
Acquisition
An acquisition is when one company or investment group buys another company. They can either buy the company to expand their offering and roll the technology into their existing product, expand into new markets or to consolidate the businesses to take on another competitor.
Agile
Agile is an iterative approach to project management and software development that helps teams deliver value to their customers faster and with fewer headaches. Instead of betting everything on a "big bang" launch, an Agile team delivers work in small, but consumable, increments.
Angel Investor
An angel investor (also known as a private investor, seed investor or angel funder) is a high-net-worth individual who provides financial backing for small start-ups or entrepreneurs, typically in exchange for ownership equity in the company.
API
API stands for Application Programming Interface, which is a software intermediary that allows two applications to talk to each other. Each time you use an app like Facebook, send an instant message, or check the weather on your phone, you're using an API.
Assumption

Assumption is a commonly used, ‘plain English’ word. So why have we included a definition here?

The Collins Dictionary defines the meaning as follows: “If you make an assumption that something is true or will happen, you accept that it is true or will happen, often without any real proof.”

This is problematic because the term ‘real proof’ is subjective.

For example, when we have spent many years in an industry, navigating a problem and speaking to people who agree it’s a problem, we often consider that to be ‘real proof’ that there’s a market for our solution. Unfortunately, we also run the risk of bias - asking biased questions or people, for example. So during Discovery, we pursue an objective standard of ‘real proof’ and either enable founders to carry out unbiased, formal, research themselves or do it on their behalf.

Sometimes founders are surprised by the results, sometimes they just learn a little more, but the most valuable part of this process is that investors LOVE this objective standard of ‘real proof’.

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