Someone new to the world of entrepreneurship will notice right away that entrepreneurs have an interesting way of speaking. From “unicorn” to “bootstrapping” to “foodpreneur,” entrepreneurs use a lot of strange language to describe what they do. By combining words, or by assigning new meaning to old ones, they have created a whole new vocabulary to better communicate their needs and ideas in an ever-evolving ecosystem. The EntrepreLingo Series is an effort to fill our readers in on some of the weirder—or less straightforward—terms you’re sure to hear in an entrepreneurial environment. So far, we’ve covered: A, B, C, D and E. This week, we’re taking a look at F through H.
FMA (First Mover Advantage)
The advantage one gains by being the first company to bring a particular product or service to market; examples of FMAs include brand recognition and customer loyalty.
Foodpreneur
A combination of the words “food” and “entrepreneur,” a foodpreneur is one who owns a food-based startup.
Franchisability
The ability of a business to be replicated in other markets. A company’s franchisability is determined by its ability to provide potential franchisees with organization, training, promotional materials, marketing and managing assistance.
Freemium
A combination of the words “free” and “premium,” a freemium business model refers to a system in which a company’s base-level tools or services are accessed for free, while their more robust features can only be accessed after a premium is paid.
Frothy
“Frothy” is used to describe a market in which assets have been detached from their intrinsic values and their prices have been driven to unsustainably high levels. Markets “froth” just before they bubble.
Gamification
Gamification is the method of incorporating game mechanics to non-game products or services to incentivise purchasing or customer/user engagement. This is done by rewarding customer/users with real-life prizes or achievements.
Gazelle
Gazelles are rapid-growth companies that start from a revenue base of $1 million and increase by at least 20% annually, meaning they double their revenues after four years.
Ground Floor
The ground floor is the startup phase of a new business where market entry costs are lowest.
Growth Hacking
Growth hacking is a way to grow and engage a company’s user base quickly and more economically than traditional advertising would allow. It is done by utilizing alternative methods of advertising, such as social media, viral marketing and targeted advertising.
Hockey Stick
A “hockey stick” is the shape a line graph takes when a company has experienced dramatic growth over time. The blade of the hockey stick is represented by the slower, early stages of growth. The shaft of the hockey stick is represented by the later, more rapid stages of growth.
Hostile Takeover
Sometimes during an acquisition, the target company’s management does not want the deal to go through. In these cases, a hostile takeover may occur, wherein the acquiring company goes directly to the target company’s shareholders or replaces the target company’s management just to get the acquisition approved.
Hustle (or Side-Hustle)
To hustle is to earn one’s living in non-traditional ways. Bootstrapping entrepreneurs often have side-hustles that help fund their businesses or cover living expenses during their startup’s early stages. Examples of hustling can be having a part-time job, doing freelance work, selling one-off goods or performing odd-jobs for friends and neighbors.
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