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Glossary
Accelerator
Describes a company development program for a batch or cohort-companies selected for participation. These programs last for a set amount of time that usually concludes with a demo day, in which graduating startups present their work to investors and other industry players.
Acquisition
One company purchases all or the majority of the shares of another company, either in exchange for its own shares or for cash.
Adjacent Innovation
Adjacent innovation is a form of innovation in an innovation portfolio arranged along the Three Horizons of Growth. Adjacent innovation refers to leveraging the core business and value proposition of an organization in a new market space.
Adkar-Framework
ADKAR is a change management framework that focuses on how change happens on an individual level. It describes the different stages to take into account in the change process, for example such as activating employees to participate in ideation.
Affiliations
Refers to the accelerators, incubators and entrepreneurship programs that a company is affiliated to through past or current participation.
Agile
An implementation workflow to enable quick iterations, as well as to move and adapt to changes fast, by embracing frequent reassessment and testing.
Alpha
The first version of the product, which is slated for testing and evaluation. For more information, see "Product Stage".
Analogy Thinking
Applying learnings from adjacent categories or market spaces to gain inspiration for new solutions. Think: ‘smart copying’.
Angel
An affluent individual who invests capital in a venture, usually in exchange for convertible debt or ownership equity. Angels presented in Finder are those who are serial angels, Israeli or residing permanently in Israel, have invested multiple times, address themselves as angels and conduct deal flow.
Angel Group
Refers to several angels that collaboratively invest in enterprises. Angel Groups are "force multipliers" for angel investors. They share their market research and pool their investment capital in order to leverage their investing processes and results.
Architectural Innovation
Architectural innovation is an innovation where the core components of the product remain the same but the relationship between these components changes. This type of innovation entails the overall design, system or the way components interact.
B2B (Business-To-Business)
The company sells its products and services to other companies.
B2B2C (Business-To-Business-To-Consumer)
The company sells its products and services to the consumer via another company rather than selling to the consumer directly.
B2C (Business-To-Consumer)
The company sells its products and services directly to consumers, which are the end-users.
B2G (Business-To-Government)
The company sells its products and services to governmental organizations.
Barriers & Boosters
A way to think about and classify potential hurdles and accelerators that may help fuel the success of a given solution within your organization.
Beta
The nearly finalized version of the product, which is slated for testing and evaluation. This version usually includes all fully functional features of the product. For more information, see "Product Stage".
Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a technique for coming up with new ideas or creative solutions to a specific problem or around a specific theme. This group creativity technique is often used to break out of traditional thinking patterns.
Breakthrough Innovation
A type of innovation that leads to substantial improvements (greater efficiency or cost-effectiveness) built upon new enabling technologies and/or business models in the market. A breakthrough innovation can be either disruptive, radical, architectural or incremental in nature to your organization.
Burn Rate
The pace in which a startup burns through the funding received from its investor.
This ratio can help establish a company's chances of survival and also the timing for raising money.
Business Case
A business case is a detailed assessment of a perceived opportunity or solution (its costs, risks, benefits, and the organization’s capabilities to solve it) that is used to decide whether it is worth pursuing by an investment panel.
Business Model Canvas
The Business Model Canvas is a tool by Strategyzer that can be used for describing, designing, challenging, and pivoting your business model.
Business Models
Refers to the commercial relationship between a company and the type of entity it considers to be its customer. It can be one of the following: B2B (business-to-business), B2C (business-to-consumer), B2B2C (business-to-business-to-consumer), B2G (business-to-government).
Buyout
A common exit strategy that involves the purchase of a controlling stake in a company. A leveraged buyout (LBO) involves borrowing money to finance a portion of the purchase price. A secondary buyout can occur when a private equity firm or group of private equity firms sell a controlling interest in a portfolio company to another private equity firm or group of private equity firms.
CVC (Corporate VC)
A corporate investment arm that directs funds directly to external startups. Such entities usually invest with the intention of integrating the sponsored technology and potentially its creators into the corporate. These activities are represented by entities in the Hubs section. For reference, see "Multinational Activity Type".
Centaurs
Describe startups that have reached valuations of more than USD 100 million (IDR 1.4 trillion) but aren’t unicorns yet. One way to measure a company’s valuation is based on funding obtained from investors.
Chief Innovation Officer
A person responsible for managing change and innovation processes in an organization. Some of the main responsibilities of a CIO are building and communicating innovation strategy, delivering and analyzing innovation results, nurturing innovation culture and managing portfolio. Ideally, the innovaiton officer reports directly to the CEO or the Strategy Officer.
Client
An individual or business who will be purchasing or engaging with a particular valuable solution. Their needs and wants must be solved sufficiently to adopt the value created. A client can also be a buyer as in B2B.
Clinical Trials
Early testing of a technology's functionality, applicability and safety. Relevant only to companies in the medical, pharmaceuticals and other biotechnology fields. In a clinical study, participants are assigned to receive one or more interventions (or no intervention) so that researchers can evaluate the effects of the interventions on biomedical or health-related outcomes. For more information, see "Product Stage".
Co-Creation
A product-development approach that brings multiple entities – often customers, suppliers, startups, or business partners – together to come up with solutions or new concepts in both B2B and B2C.
Collaboration
Collaboration refers to working together with internal or external partners to solve a problem or to achieve a common goal.
Collaborative Strategy Process
Collaborative strategy process involves employees in strategy work. This can include defining or clarifying the mission and vision of the organization as well as other actions that advance the company strategy.
Commercialization Of Innovation
Commercialization is a component of product innovation process that converts ideas and prototypes into viable products.
Communities
In order to differentiate between various terms that are often mistaken with the term "community" (terms such as network, forum, group and others), there are three basic elements essential for a group of people to be termed as a community. Communities have common ground, common space and community leadership. The common ground is a shared interest that includes a clear definition of the target audience, defines what the community stands for, and defines a process it wants to take its members through. The common space is the main place where the community interacts and communicates. The community can and should define rules and/or principles for using the spaces. The members must be registered or formally affiliated with the space. The community leadership are the facilitators of the community, administrators and decision-makers of the group. The community leadership needs to share their background and obligation to the continuation and success of the community.
Companies
In order to qualify for Finder a company must meet all the following criteria:
(1) It develops a proprietary technology/invention, (2) it has an office in Israel with local R&D activity,
(3) at least one of the founders must be Israeli (but they don't have to live in Israel).
Types of companies that do not develop a proprietary technology/invention (criterion 1) and therefore are excluded
from Finder are: Service providers, consulting services, advertising companies, design/software houses, mobile app developers,
integrators. For example: (a) A company that solely answers client requests to write code or design products over which it will have
no ownership, (b) a company that solely distributes products.
Competitive Edge
The factors that allow a company to compete more effectively than its industry peers. Competitive advantages are attributed to a variety of factors including cost structure, branding, the quality of product offerings, the distribution network, intellectual property, and customer service.
Convertible Debt
A type of interest-bearing debt that is designed to convert into equity at some future point in time subject to specific criteria.
Coopetion
The act of cooperation between competing companies; businesses that engage in both competition and cooperation are said to be in coopetition. Certain businesses gain an advantage by using a judicious mixture of cooperation with suppliers, customers, and firms producing complementary or related products.
Core Innovation
Core innovation refers to small, incremental improvements to existing products or services that are the main sources of revenue, and is something companies do daily.
Corporate Accelerator
An accelerator run by a corporation. These activities are represented by entities in the Hubs section. For reference, see "Multinational Activity Type".
Critical Assumption
A high-risk assumption that needs to be proven true in order for a potential solution to be a success. Also referred to as a LOFA: Leap of Faith Assumption.
Critical Thinking
Making reasoned judgments that are logical and well-thought-out, accomplished through honest and open discussions where feedback is meant to strengthen and challenge an idea.
Crossing The Chasm
Crossing the Chasm is a book written by Geoffrey A. Moore which explores and extends the diffusion of innovations, and is closely related to the technology adoption life-cycle. Moore's main argument is that because of very different expectations of early adopters and early majority, there's a chasm between these two that is relatively difficult to cross.
Crowdfunding
Organization that facilitates funding a project or venture by raising money from private individuals from the public, typically through social media and crowdfunding websites.
Crowdsourcing
Crowdsourcing means gathering information and new ideas with the help of external networks, typically via online channels.
Customer
The individual or business who will be purchasing or engaging with a particular valuable solution. Their needs and wants must be solved sufficiently to adopt the value created. A customer can also be a buyer as in B2B.
Customer Development
A stage in which the product is in the most initial stages of development. In this stage, the founders of the company are still engaged in market research, finalizing the direction of the product. For more information, see "Product Stage".
Deal Flow
The quantity of investment opportunities available at a given time to a particular company or investor or within a particular region or market sector.
Debt Financing
A type of loan, offering finance that must be fully repaid with interest and does not result in ownership of any equity.
Delisting
The removal of a listed security from a stock exchange. In other words, the company goes from being publicly to privately held. The delisting of a security can be voluntary or involuntary and usually results when a company ceases operations, declares bankruptcy, merges, does not meet listing requirements, or seeks to become private.
Design Thinking
Design Thinking is the creative and systematic approach to problem-solving by placing the user/customer at the center of the experience. It consists of 5 phases – Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test. It is best applied to innovation projects where the problem domain is not fully known or understood with a high degree of uncertainty and ambiguity. Design thinking is an outcome-focused methodology that is used for creating better solutions for customers. Design thinking applies actionable design principles to the innovation strategy and ways of working.
Digitalization
Digitalization refers to the application of digital technologies and digitized data to transform core business models such as customer engagement, relationship management, or revenue streams. Digitalization relies first on the digitization of processes from analog or offline systems.
Disruptive Innovation
Disruptive innovation refers to a new technology that completely changes the way the industry or market functions, creating a new value proposition in an uncontested market space.
Due Diligence
Due diligence is an investigation, audit, or review performed to confirm facts or details of a matter under consideration. In the financial world, due diligence requires an examination of financial records before entering into a proposed transaction with another party.
Early Adaptor
A person who starts using a product or technology as soon as it becomes available.
End-User
The person, individual or buyer who ultimately uses a product or service.
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an individual who creates a new business, bearing most of the risks and enjoying most of the rewards. The process of setting up a business is known as entrepreneurship. The entrepreneur is commonly seen as an innovator, a source of new ideas, goods, services, and business/or procedures.
Entrepreneurship Program
Resembles an accelerator, teaching tech entrepreneurship, but has no pre-determined limit on time, nor is it batch-/cohort-based, and it is usually supported by an academic institution. Participants usually fully develop a product.
Equity
An accounting term that describes the founders investment in the event or comapnay in the company as it
Equity Crowdfunding
A form of crowdfunding where a broad group of people invest money in a private company in exchange for equity. Equity crowdfunding platforms allows investors to tap into opportunities once reserved only for banks, private equity, and venture capital firms. On equity crowdfunding platforms, the potential investor can find exclusive opportunities to invest in privately held startup companies on the ground floor rather than waiting for a company to go public, putting his money to work alongside experienced investors
Evaluation Criteria
Benchmarks or objectives that can be used as a selection lens through which ideas can be compared, evaluated, and prioritized whilst limiting personal biases in decision making.
Experimentation
The process of running experiment tests designed to help investigate and validate solutions, assumptions and hypotheses.
FFF (Friends, Family And Fools)
Very early stage funding, where friends and family and believers give the young entrepeneur small amounts of cash, usually as aloan to the founders
Fab-Lab
A fab lab (fabrication laboratory) is a small-scale workshop offering open access to (personal) digital fabrication.
Family Office
A family office is a private wealth management advisory firm that serves ultra-high-net-worth individuals (HNWI).
Family offices are different from traditional wealth management shops in that they offer a total solution to managing the financial and investment needs of an affluent individual or family.
Feasibility
The third phase of the innovation process attached to technical competencies needed in order to execute and build a new innovation.
Feedback
Information or experience regarding a product or service that is used for making improvements. For many, feedback is an important driver in a decision-making or product development process.
Feedback Grid
A tool to capture and unpack insights from users in order to determine which improvements and new ideas to move forward with.
Financial Investor
Any investor or series of Affiliated investors whose primary business is the investment of capital for financial gain (including venture capital funds, private equity funds, pension funds and sovereign wealth funds).
First-Mover Advantage
First-mover advantage is the competitive advantage gained by a first entrant in a market or segment. First-mover advantage is often achieved through advanced technology or the control of scarce resources and applies only to disruptive innovations.
Follow-On Investment
A subsequent investment made by an investor who has made a previous investment in the company.
Founder
A founder is the person who starts their own company. They’re the one who came up with the business idea and acted on it.
Funding Stage
Represents a company's latest equity funding event:Pre-Seed, Seed, Round A, Round B, Round C,
Round D, Round E, Round F, Round G, Round H Companies that has not raised external equity funding will be considered Pre-funding.
For publicly traded companies, the funding stage is Public.
Go-To-Market Strategy
A go-to-market strategy is a structured and actionable plan that lays out how an organization will deliver its value proposition to customers. It includes consideration of resources and timeline, identification of the target audience, and marketing and sales plans.
Grant
Generally non-refundable financing where the grantor does not receive equity or a right in the assets or future cash flows of the company. There are exceptions where a grant is awarded in accordance with certain predefined conditions. Typically, this form of financing is done by government agencies.
Growth Mindset
Individuals who spend time and effort constantly challenging their status quo. They continually self-reflect in order to find key areas to grow and improve, whilst accepting being outside of their comfort zone.
Growth Stage
Funding stage, usually after the second round of fundraising and when the company already is generating revenues or income from its product
Hackathon
a program that brings a large number of participants that work in teams to tackle a big challenge or market insight. These events typically run for 48 hours, are high-energy and involve 50+ people from a variety of organizations, and private individuals. Organizations have taken on this model to increase organizational innovative thinking for organizational challenges in an engaging way.
Hubs
An accelerator, entrepreneurship program, or coworking space housed in Israel, whose membership includes Israeli companies. Finder categorizes hubs into five types: Accelerator, Corporate Accelerator, Communities, Co-Working Space, Entrepreneurship Program.
Hype
In contrast to a trend, a hype is a collective and often spontaneous fad that disappears after a short period of time.
Incremental Innovation
A type of innovation that provides gradual improvements to existing products, processes, or methods, in order to maintain/sustain a competitive position over time.
Incubator
A technological incubator is a center for entrepreneurship intended to invest in new startup companies and provide them with technological, business and administrative support. Incubators offer a supportive framework for the establishment of a company and development of a concept into a commercial product. Within the incubator, a company will refine its idea(s), and work on its business and product(s). Incubators can be focused on a specific market or vertical. As of today, incubators in Finder are categorized as programs under the Incubators Incentive Program of the Israeli innovation authority. The incubators are selected through competitive processes for a license period of eight years and are spread across Israel, especially in its peripheral parts.
Initial Coin Offering (ICO)
A means to raise capital for a new cryptocurrency/blockchain venture. In an ICO, a quantity of the crowdfunded cryptocurrency is sold to investors in the form of "tokens", in exchange for legal tender or other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum. An ICO is often used by startups to bypass the rigorous capital-raising process required by regulators.
Initial Public Offering (IPO)
An initial public offering is when a private company or corporation raises investment capital by offering its stock to the public for the first time.
Innovation
Innovation can refer to something new, such as an invention, or the practice of developing and introducing new things. An innovation is often a new product, but it can also be a new way of doing something or even a new way of thinking.
Innovation Center
Refers to an in-house think tank, tasked with considering potential direction for the MNC beyond its current scope. For reference, see "Multinational Activity Type".
Innovation Culture
An organizational culture that values and supports innovation. In practice, it's the engine that drives the organization to constantly get better, move forward, and innovate.
Innovation Journey
A systematic and structured approach to generating, prioritizing, evaluating, and validating new ideas, as well as putting them into practice. The journey includes 5 phases (scoping, problem exploration, solution development, business model definition, and pitch design) with validation occurring throughout.
Innovation Lab
A separate and dedicated unit within an organization with a core focus of nurturing innovation, often from ideation to proof of concept and market launch.
Innovation Metrics
A measurement that describes either the quality or quantity of the inputs, or outputs, involved within the innovation process.
Innovation Process
Innovation process is a systematic and structured approach for generating, prioritizing, evaluating and validating new ideas, as well as putting them into practice.
Innovation Strategy
A plan that provides clear guidance on the role of innovation within the overall company portfolio.
Intellectual Property (IP)
Intellectual property (IP) refers to knowledge or processes that are protectable under copyright, patent, trademark, or trade secret laws from imitation, infringement, and dilution.
Interdisciplinary Teams
A coordinated group from several different fields who bring together complementary skills while solving a needs and problems from the customer point of view.
Intrapreneur
An employee who brings entrepreneurial skills to a corporate’s innovation process and generates new ventures for the business. A constructive trouble maker who get’s s*** done without letting the bureaucracy get in the way.
Investors
A business entity (Israeli or Foreign) with a constant presence in Israel (office/s or permanent man on the ground, including venture partner/s) that invests in Israeli tech companies. If the foreign investor does not have a constant presence in Israel (i.e - do not meet the first criterion), it should meet ,at least, one of the following criteria, for being mapped with a full investor profile in the platform: It has made at least 4 investments in Israeli tech companies within the last 3 years; OR, it has at least 10 Israeli companies in its portfolio (across all its funds) ; OR, it has an active fully or partially designated funds for investments in Israel. Foreign investors which do not meet at least one of these criteria are not eligible for being mapped with a full investor profile in the platform.
Joint Grant
A grant provided for the development of a project run by a local company in collaboration with a foreign company. Usually these grants are governmental bi-national programs. The amount of the grant is generally for the entire project and not for each company.
Joint Venture
A business arrangement in which two or more parties agree to pool their resources for the purpose of accomplishing a specific task. This task can be a new project or any other business activity.
Lead Investor
An individual investor (or group) who initiated the deal, taking the most active role in the investment round andor who invested the most money.
Leading Partner
A specific team member of the venture capital firm that led the investment round.
Lean Canvas Model
Also known as Lean Startup Model, a project management methodology for developing business ideas, products and services through condensed product-launch cycles that involve experimentation, iteration and validated learning.
Lighthouse Project
A project that aims to act as a successful and exemplary model, which future innovation teams can learn from and strive towards.
Makerspace
A joint workspace set up with prototyping tools and technologies, from 3D printers to drill presses, sewing machines et-al
Market Pull
A market orientation that emphasizes the ability to learn and respond to what potential customers want and are willing to pay for.
Maturity
A stage in a company's life cycle when it is operationally sound, has regular sales, positions itself as competitive and with brand awareness amongst its customers
Meetup (Tech)
Any event where a group of like-minded people can listen to experts, share experiences, and simply communicate. The key difference in TECH meetup is their technological approach.
Merger
In a merger, two companies join forces to create a new, unified organization.
Mergers And Acquisitions (M&A)
A term that refers to the consolidation of companies or assets through various types of financial transactions. Mergers and Acquisitions are commonly done to expand a company's reach, expand into new segments, or gain market share. In a merger, two companies join forces to create a new, unified organization. In an acquisition, one company purchases all or most of the shares of another company either in exchange for its own shares or for cash.
Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is the version of a new product a team uses to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort. It’s a basic version with the smallest number of capabilities that will deliver enough value to potential paying customers for them to be able to give you feedback.
Multinational Activity Type
Finder distinguishes between five types: R&D, Corporate Accelerator, CVC (Corporate VC), Sales, Innovation center.
Multinationals
A multinational corporation (MNC) listed in Finder is one that originates and is headquartered abroad, and additionally has a subsidiary or branch in Israel engaged in R&D activities or operating an innovation center. Multinationals with only sales activities in Israel are not included. A multinational corporation that is involved in investing or operating a program will be listed in the 'Investors' or 'Hubs' sections accordingly.
Networking
Networking is the exchange of information and ideas among people with a common profession or special interest, usually in an informal social setting. Networking often begins with a single point of common ground.
Professionals use networking to expand their circles of acquaintances, find out about job opportunities in their fields, and increase their awareness of news and trends in their fields or the greater world.
Open Innovation
Open Innovation means combining and using internal and external ideas together to advance the development of new technologies. external ideas are used together with the internal ones. Open innovation stresses the importance of relationships between the firm and its outside partners.
Opposite Thinking
An ideation tool that flips logic and assumptions on their head to provide interesting challenge statements to come up with radical ideas.
Output Metrics
measurements that calculate your innovation investment yields. Typical output metrics are for example ROI of innovation activities and revenue growth from new products.
Patent
A granted right to the owner of an invention to exclude others from producing or selling their invention for a limited period of time.
Pe (Private Equity)
Refers to a company that invests venture capital in companies, usually in growth stage, in exchange for a private equity stake.. PE firms directly invests in private companies or engages in buyouts of public companies. PE investments are characterized by long holding periods and substantial holding shares.
Pilot
The pilot project is an initial small-scale implementation that is used to prove the viability of a project idea. This could involve either the exploration of a novel new approach or idea or the application of a standard approach recommended by outside parties but which is new to the organisation.
Pitch
A concise story of a venture or startup for potential investors or customers. Typically structured as 1) problem to solve 2) proposed solution 3) value of solving the problem 4) team credibility
Playbook
A step-by-step guidebook designed to help teams follow the innovation process autonomously.
Portfolio Company
An innovative company that is part of a group of company's an investor has invested in
Portfolio Management
refers to the process of making decisions about investments and how different assets are allocated.
Post-Ipo Equity
Equity raised by a public company after its IPO.
Pre-Seed
A financing round given to early stage startups prior to a Seed round, usually for the purpose of minimum viable product (MVP) development.
Pre-funding
Pre-funding, also known as bootstrapping, refers to the initial stage of a business where the company is self-financed through personal savings or revenue from initial sales. A pre-funded startup may have limited assets and resources and may rely on bootstrapping to sustainably finance its continuous operations. Although a pre-funded startup may have received grants or initial sales revenue, it has not yet secured external funding from investors or venture capitalists.
Private Equity Financing
Refers to investments made by Private Equity (PE) firms, usually in more mature companies. Private equity rounds are late stage rounds and frequently involve the PE firm buying a controlling stake in the company.
Product Stage
The current development stage of the company's first product: Customer development, R&D, Clinical Trials, Alpha, Beta, Released.
Product-Market Fit
The point at which a business model is validated by the market and holds true for all stakeholders whilst generating economic value for the organization.
Proof Of Concept (PoC)
Proof of concept (POC) is evidence obtained from a pilot project, which is executed to demonstrate that a product idea, business plan, or project plan is feasible.
Pros-Cons Matrix
A tool that helps you visualize the pros and cons solutions quickly and prevents teams from wasting time discussing too many options without moving forwards.
Prototype
The first version of a product or technology that is being tested and from which later versions will be developed.
Prototype
A tangible representation or sample of an idea
Public
Indicates that the company has held a public offering and is traded on a stock market.
R&D
Refers to offices used for the extensive, focused process of developing products and determining target markets or of enhancing the MNC's existing technology. For reference, see "Multinational Activity Type".
Radical Innovation
A type of innovation where entirely new technical competencies are required to bring it to market, but the business model more or less stays the same. Significant R&D investments needed for new technologies to emerge as main competitive advantage.
Radical innovation happens when a new technology completely disrupts existing business or economy and creates a new business model.
Released
For the product being available for use by the target markets (and beyond). For more information, see "Product Stage".
Reverse Innovation
Reverse innovation refers to innovations that are first seen and used in emerging markets and only after that introduced to the developed markets.
Reverse Merger
A reverse merger allows a company to go public without going through the lengthy and complex process of a conventional initial public offering. In a reverse merger, the company acquires the majority of the shares of a public shell company, effectively transforming the acquirer into a public company.
Risk Analysis
Risk analysis refers to the process of identifying and assessing factors, either internal or external, that could potentially threaten the success or progress of a project or initiative. This includes determining the likelihood of a risk to occur and the magnitude of the potential impact.
Roadmap
A visual representation of the innovation milestones and deliverables required to manage an organization’s transition from its current state to a future state over a specific time period.
Roadshow (IPO)
A roadshow is a series of presentations made in various locations leading up to an initial public offering. The roadshow is a sales pitch to potential investors by the underwriting firm and a company's executive management team.
Round A
This is the first post-seed funding round, usually meant to bring the company through early stages of development of the product, expansion, and marketing.
Round B
This is the second post-seed funding round, usually exceeding the A-round funding amount.
Round C
This is the third post-seed round, usually exceeding round the B-round funding amount.
SAFE
A simple agreement for future equity (SAFE) is an agreement between an investor and a company that provides rights to the investor for future equity in the company similar to a warrant, except without determining a specific price per share at the time of the initial investment. The SAFE investor receives the future shares when a priced round of investment or liquidity event occurs. SAFEs are intended to provide a simpler mechanism for startups to seek initial funding other than convertible notes.
Saas Software
Software as a service (or SaaS) is a way of delivering applications over the Internet—as a service. Instead of installing and maintaining software, you simply access it via the Internet, freeing yourself from complex software and hardware management.
Sales
Describes a base devoted to marketing the MNC's products. For reference, see "Multinational Activity Type".
Scaling
To grow or expand a venture in a proportional and profitable way once Product-Market Fit has been conclusively demonstrated.
Scoping
The first step in the innovation process which requires teams to align on key goals, responsibilities, teaming and outcomes for an innovation project to get the initial go-ahead from the organization.
Scouting
the process of observing shifts and developments in the innovation ecosystem. The role includes collecting pertinent data, contextualizing change, identifying trends, technologies, startups, and potential partners that hold both impact and relevance.
Scrum
A set of project management practices used in agile project development that emphasize daily communication and the flexible reassessment of plans that are carried out in short, iterative phases of work via a backlog.
Secondary funding
Secondary funding refers to the process of raising capital for a company that has already received initial investment or primary funding from investors or venture capitalists. This type of funding is typically obtained when the company needs additional capital to expand or scale its operations beyond what was initially planned on veritable notes.
Seed Round
Seed is a funding round that fully supports the current stages of the company's operations. The capital at this stage is usually received from angels, accelerators, incubators or VC firms.
Six Sigma
Six Sigma is a process that makes use of statistics and data analysis to analyze and reduce errors or defects. In this process, the purpose is to improve cycle times while reducing manufacturing defects to no more than 3.4 defects per million units or events
Social Innovation
New ideas or strategies that are designed to meet different social needs, such as health or education.
Spac- Special Purpose Acquisition Company
SPAC is formed to raise money through an initial public offering (IPO) to buy another company.
Sprint
A time-boxed iteration of a development cycle used in Agile development in which a planned amount of work is completed by a team and made ready for review.
Stakeholder Mapping
Identification of the internal decision makers and external customers/users whose needs and opinions must be taken into account throughout the innovation process.
Strategic Investor
An organization financially invested in a company that provides greater value to it than financial revenue. These types of investments are usually higher.
Sustaining Innovation
a type of innovation that exists in the current market and instead of creating new value networks, it rather improves and grows the existing ones.
Tech Ecosystem
A tech ecosystem is a network of interconnected and interdependent diverse business entities. They come together to support each other and spur innovation sustainably. Many people understand the term ecosystem as it pertains to living organisms.
Technology Adoption Life Cycle
The Technology Adoption Life Cycle is (first introduced by Geoffrey Moore in his book Crossing the Chasm), is a theory that explains why companies with disruptive products and technology often have difficulties with succeeding in the mainstream market.
Technology Push
Starting the innovation process with inspiration drawn from new and existing technology in order to search for and connect with key market unmet needs and problems. This is typically a high-risk innovation process as outcomes may never align sufficiently with customer needs in order for them to be purchased as value.
Toyota Way
The Toyota Way is a comprehensive expression of the company's management philosophy, which is based on the two foundational principles of Continuous Improvement (kaizen) and Respect for People.
Transformational Innovation
Transformational innovation is rare and powerful. It transforms the way organizations do business and offers completely new value for many generations. Only 10% of innovations are transformational.
Trend
A demand driver that represents new consumer attitudes, expectations, behaviors, or other market shifts that drive new change. Trends are an indication of market pull, guiding innovators in knowing what consumers need, desire, and occasionally demand.
Trend Scouting
Trend scouting is an environmental scanning activity and refers to the systematic scanning of information related to emerging, evolving, and existing consumer needs and market pull that have impact and relevance in an organization’s environment. Trend scouting involves aggregating, assessing, and disseminating trend information to enhance innovation intelligence.
Unicorn
A Unicorn is defined as a privately held company valued at 1 billion dollars or more. Companies worth 10 billion dollars are known as Decacorns and companies worth 100 billion dollars are known as Hectocorns. As Unicorns grow, they may be acquired or decide to go public. However, once a Unicorn has opted to exit, it is no longer considered a Unicorn. Unicorns which drop below 1 billion dollars are also no longer considered Unicorns.
Use Case
the ambition of gathering extensive creative input from stakeholders and funneling that towards concrete actions to drive businesses forward.
User Journey Map
A tool that maps out key customer steps or phases a user takes when moving through a particular product or service. It is designed to help teams identify key moments in the user experience and opportunities for continuous improvement.
VC And Private Equity
Describes a firm that combines both VC and PE policies.
Validation
The process of discovering if an idea has the potential to survive in the market. Typically, only the most critical assumptions related to an idea, prototype, or hypothesis are tested and reported on within a project team.
Value Creation
The process of creating a product or service offering that solves a job to be done, need, pain or problem for a customer to such a degree that it will be purchased.
Value Proposition
A clear and concise description of the key value a solution provides to a customer or user.
Venture Capital (VC)
Refers to a company that invests its limited partners' money in a venture to support its expansion. VC's focus on strictly financial return. Vc's support companies of various stages, from seed stage to growth stage.
Viability
Economic viability is the point at which a sustainable and repeatable business model has been prototyped and validated by a project team.