GLOSSARY
Plain-English definitions of the concepts that appear in your generated venture materials. Hover any underlined term inside your assets to see the definition inline.
How tokens are structured, distributed, and governed, from supply and vesting to governance rights.
allocation
The share of the total token supply assigned to a specific group: team, investors, community, ecosystem, or treasury.
cliff
A mandatory waiting period before any tokens begin to vest, typically 6 to 12 months, after which the first tranche unlocks all at once.
emissions
The rate at which new tokens are released into circulation over time, often tied to staking rewards or ecosystem incentives.
fdv
Fully Diluted Valuation: the total market cap if every token in existence (including locked and unreleased) were priced at today's market price.
governance token
A token that grants holders voting rights over protocol decisions: fee changes, treasury spending, parameter updates, and more.
lockup
A restriction that prevents token holders from selling or transferring tokens for a defined period after receiving them.
market cap
The total value of all currently circulating tokens, calculated as price multiplied by circulating supply, the most commonly cited measure of protocol size.
security token
A token classified as a financial security by regulators, typically representing ownership in an asset or profit-sharing rights, subject to full securities law compliance.
NOT LEGAL, TAX, OR FINANCIAL ADVICE. CONSULT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL
slashing
A penalty mechanism that destroys a portion of a validator's staked tokens as punishment for malicious behavior or downtime.
staking
Locking tokens in a smart contract to earn yield, participate in governance, or contribute to network security. Tokens are temporarily illiquid while staked.
total supply
The maximum number of tokens that can ever exist for this project, including those not yet in circulation.
treasury
A pool of tokens held by the protocol or DAO, reserved to fund development, grants, partnerships, and operations over time.
utility token
A token that grants access to a specific product or service within its ecosystem rather than representing ownership or profit rights.
NOT LEGAL, TAX, OR FINANCIAL ADVICE. CONSULT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL
vesting
The schedule by which allocated tokens are gradually released to recipients, preventing early sell-offs and aligning long-term incentives.
The instruments, stages, and mechanics of raising capital for a startup or protocol.
convertible note
A short-term loan that converts into equity at a future financing round, typically at a discount to reward early risk.
NOT LEGAL, TAX, OR FINANCIAL ADVICE. CONSULT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL
dilution
The reduction in existing shareholders' or token holders' percentage ownership when new shares or tokens are issued to new investors.
ico
Initial Coin Offering: a public token sale used to raise capital for a blockchain project, historically unregulated but now closely scrutinized by securities regulators.
NOT LEGAL, TAX, OR FINANCIAL ADVICE. CONSULT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL
ido
Initial DEX Offering: a token launch conducted directly on a decentralized exchange, giving immediate public access to trading at launch.
ieo
Initial Exchange Offering: a token sale hosted by a centralized exchange on the project's behalf, with the exchange performing due diligence and providing its user base.
safe
Simple Agreement for Future Equity: a contract that promises the right to receive equity in a future priced round, without setting a current valuation.
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seed round
An early-stage funding round where investors back the team and vision, often before significant revenue or product, typically via SAFE or convertible note.
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series a
A startup's first major priced equity round, typically after demonstrating meaningful traction. Investors buy preferred shares at a negotiated valuation.
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valuation cap
The maximum company valuation at which a SAFE or convertible note converts into equity, protects early investors from excessive dilution if the company grows before the next round.
NOT LEGAL, TAX, OR FINANCIAL ADVICE. CONSULT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL
Core on-chain primitives, smart contracts, DEXes, DAOs, validators, and the infrastructure beneath them.
dao
A Decentralized Autonomous Organization: a community governed by token holder votes via smart contracts rather than by a central company or authority.
dex
A decentralized exchange where tokens are traded peer-to-peer via smart contracts, without a central custodian holding user funds.
liquidity pool
A pool of tokens locked in a smart contract that enables decentralized trading. Liquidity providers deposit tokens and earn fees on trades.
multisig
A wallet or contract requiring multiple authorized signers to approve a transaction, distributing control and improving security over treasury funds.
oracle
A service that feeds real-world off-chain data, prices, events, randomness, into smart contracts, bridging the gap between blockchains and the external world.
quadratic voting
A voting mechanism where voting power scales as the square root of tokens held, reducing the influence of large holders and giving more voice to smaller participants.
quorum
The minimum percentage of eligible votes that must be cast for a governance proposal to be valid and eligible for execution.
slippage
The difference between an expected trade price and the actual executed price, caused by low liquidity, large order size, or market movement.
smart contract
A self-executing program deployed on a blockchain that runs automatically when predefined conditions are met, removing the need for intermediaries.
tvl
Total Value Locked: the total dollar value of assets deposited in a DeFi protocol, widely used as a measure of adoption and protocol health.
validator
A node operator that verifies and adds new transactions to a blockchain, typically required to stake tokens as collateral and earn rewards in return.
Regulatory concepts that govern who can invest, how tokens are classified, and what disclosures are required.
accredited investor
An individual or entity meeting SEC wealth or income thresholds, legally permitted to invest in private unregistered securities offerings in the US.
NOT LEGAL, TAX, OR FINANCIAL ADVICE. CONSULT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL
aml
Anti-Money Laundering: regulations, procedures, and controls designed to detect and prevent criminals from disguising illegal funds as legitimate income.
NOT LEGAL, TAX, OR FINANCIAL ADVICE. CONSULT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL
broker-dealer
A firm or individual licensed by regulators (in the US, registered with FINRA) to buy and sell securities on behalf of clients or for its own account.
NOT LEGAL, TAX, OR FINANCIAL ADVICE. CONSULT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL
kyc
Know Your Customer: identity verification procedures required by law to confirm user identity and prevent fraud, money laundering, and sanctions violations.
NOT LEGAL, TAX, OR FINANCIAL ADVICE. CONSULT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL
reg d
SEC Regulation D: a US exemption allowing private companies to raise capital from accredited investors without a costly full securities registration.
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reg s
An SEC exemption allowing securities to be offered and sold outside the United States to non-US persons, without SEC registration, commonly used alongside Reg D.
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sanctions
Legal prohibitions on financial transactions with specific countries, individuals, or entities designated by governments. Violations can result in severe criminal penalties.
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securities offering
The sale of financial instruments, stocks, bonds, or potentially tokens, that regulators may classify as securities, triggering registration, disclosure, and investor-protection requirements.
NOT LEGAL, TAX, OR FINANCIAL ADVICE. CONSULT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL
The numbers investors use to size markets, track growth, and evaluate unit economics.
arr
Annual Recurring Revenue: the annualized value of all active subscription or recurring contracts, a primary metric for SaaS and subscription business health.
basis points
One hundredth of a percentage point (0.01%), used by finance professionals to express fees, rates, and small percentage changes precisely.
gross margin
Revenue minus the direct cost of delivering it, expressed as a percentage, measures how efficiently the core business generates profit before fixed costs.
mrr
Monthly Recurring Revenue: the predictable monthly revenue from active subscriptions or recurring contracts, before one-time charges.
runway
The number of months a company can continue operating before running out of cash at its current monthly burn rate.
sam
Serviceable Addressable Market: the portion of TAM that your business model, geography, and current product can realistically serve today.
som
Serviceable Obtainable Market: the realistic near-term market share you can capture given your resources, go-to-market motion, and competition.
tam
Total Addressable Market: the total global revenue opportunity if your product were adopted by every potential customer in the world, with no competitive constraint.