Tech Entrepreneur
Every concept an engineer meets when starting a company, from first idea to scale, in the order you actually need it.
Idea
Find a problem worth solving and prove people have it. Where every first-time founder starts.
Core: start here
- MVPThe smallest product that tests whether an idea works.
- User ResearchLearning what users actually need.
- StartupA company built to find a repeatable, scalable business model fast, not just a small business.
- Founder-Market FitWhy you, specifically, are the right person to build this.
- Co-founderChoosing who you start with, the earliest and hardest-to-undo decision.
- Why Startups FailThe common causes of failure, most of which have nothing to do with the code.
- Technical FounderWhat changes when an engineer's job stops being only the code.
- The Mom TestAsking about people's past behavior so even your mom can't lie to you about your idea.
- Customer InterviewsTalking to potential users to learn about their problems, not to pitch.
- Problem DiscoveryFinding problems people actually have, instead of starting from a solution.
- Lean StartupBuilding companies by testing assumptions with small experiments instead of big plans.
- Problem-Solution FitEvidence that your solution addresses a problem real people care about.
- Business ModelHow a company creates value, delivers it and gets paid for it.
- B2B vs B2CSelling to businesses versus consumers: different sales, pricing, metrics and pace.
- SaaS Business ModelSelling software as a recurring subscription, and why investors value it.
- Value PropositionA clear statement of what you do, for whom, and why it beats the alternatives.
- BootstrappingFunding the company from savings and revenue instead of outside investors.
- Venture CapitalInvestment funds that buy equity in risky startups, and what they expect in return.
- Founder Equity SplitDividing ownership among co-founders, and why equal by default deserves thought.
- Co-founder AgreementA written agreement on roles, equity, vesting, decisions and what happens if someone leaves.
- Vesting ScheduleEarning equity over time, usually with a cliff, so departed founders don't keep it all.
- IncorporationForming a legal company, and how the choice of entity and country shapes everything after.
- IP AssignmentMaking sure the company, not individual founders or contractors, owns the code and inventions.
- PT (Perseroan Terbatas)The Indonesian limited liability company, the default entity for a startup.
47 more idea concepts
- IaaS, PaaS, SaaSHow much of the stack the provider manages for you.
- Writing ClearlyLead with the point, be specific, keep it short.
- Explaining to Non-EngineersTranslating technical trade-offs into business terms.
- User EmpathyRemembering a real person uses what you build.
- Product ThinkingUnderstanding the user problem behind the ticket.
- Idea MazeMapping the paths, dead ends and earlier attempts around an idea before you commit.
- Opportunity Cost of FoundingThe salary, time and career options you give up, counted honestly.
- Tarpit IdeasIdeas that look easy and obvious, attract many founders, and rarely work.
- Lifestyle BusinessA profitable company that stays small on purpose, and why that's a valid choice.
- Venture-Scale BusinessWhether your idea can grow big enough for venture capital to make sense.
- Indie HackingBuilding small, profitable software products alone or in a tiny team, usually bootstrapped.
- Side Project to StartupWhen a side project deserves to become a company, and when it should stay a side project.
- Solo FounderStarting alone: what's harder, what's simpler, and what investors think.
- Why NowWhat changed recently that makes this idea possible or newly needed.
- Riskiest AssumptionThe belief that kills the company if wrong, which you should test first.
- Build-Measure-LearnThe loop of shipping something small, measuring what happens and deciding what's next.
- Customer SegmentsGroups of customers with the same problem, budget and buying behavior.
- TAM, SAM, SOMTotal, serviceable and obtainable market: sizing how big the opportunity really is.
- Competitor AnalysisUnderstanding who else solves the problem, including spreadsheets and doing nothing.
- Jobs to Be DoneSeeing products as something customers hire to make progress in a situation.
- Concierge MVPDelivering the service by hand to a few customers before automating anything.
- Early AdoptersThe first customers who'll use an unfinished product because they need it badly.
- Landing Page TestMeasuring interest with a landing page and sign-up form before building the product.
- Willingness to PayHow much a customer would pay, which you learn from behavior, not from asking.
- Pre-sellingGetting customers to pay or commit before the product is built.
- Fake Door TestOffering a feature that doesn't exist yet to see how many people try to use it.
- Wizard of Oz MVPA product that looks automated to users while people do the work behind the scenes.
- Painkiller vs VitaminWhether your product solves an urgent pain or is merely nice to have.
- No-Code PrototypeTesting an idea with no-code or low-code tools before writing software.
- Business Model CanvasA one-page template for laying out customers, value, channels, costs and revenue.
- Services to ProductStarting as an agency or consultancy and turning repeated work into a product.
- Two-Sided MarketplaceA platform that matches buyers and sellers and earns from the transactions between them.
- Subscription ModelCharging customers repeatedly for continued access instead of once.
- Non-Dilutive FundingMoney that doesn't cost equity, such as grants, competitions and revenue.
- Personal RunwayHow many months you can survive without salary before starting.
- NDANon-disclosure agreements, and why most investors won't sign one.
- First-Mover AdvantageWhether being first matters, and why the winner is often not the first.
- Indonesian Startup EcosystemThe investors, accelerators, communities and big tech companies around Indonesian startups.
- Akta PendirianThe notarial deed that establishes an Indonesian company and sets out its articles.
- NIBThe business identification number that acts as an Indonesian company's main license.
- KBLIIndonesian business classification codes, which decide which licenses and ownership rules apply.
- OSS RBAIndonesia's online risk-based business licensing system.
- CV (Persekutuan Komanditer)A limited partnership common among small Indonesian businesses, and why startups usually avoid it.
- PT PeroranganA single-founder limited company for micro and small businesses in Indonesia.
- NPWPThe Indonesian taxpayer identification number for individuals and companies.
- Southeast Asia as a MarketA large but fragmented region: different languages, laws, payment habits and income levels.
- Southeast Asian Startup EcosystemThe regional investors, accelerators and hubs, with Singapore at the center.
MVP
Ship the smallest thing someone will use or pay for, and set up the company properly.
Core: start here
- Product AnalyticsTracking how people use features to inform decisions.
- Tracking PlanA shared spec of which events to track, their names and their properties.
- Giving a DemoShowing your work clearly to an audience.
- PresentingCommunicating ideas to a group.
- Build vs BuyDeciding whether to build something or use an existing product.
- Boring Technology / Innovation TokensSpending novelty sparingly and choosing proven tools by default.
- Cutting MVP ScopeRemoving everything that isn't needed to test whether people want the core product.
- Design PartnersA few early customers who shape the product in exchange for influence and early access.
- Do Things That Don't ScaleManual, personal work early on that wins your first users and teaches you what to build.
- Choosing a Startup Tech StackPicking technology for speed and hiring, not for scale you don't have yet.
- Product LaunchReleasing publicly in a way that brings users, feedback and attention.
- Vanity MetricsNumbers that look good but don't tell you whether the business is working.
- Burn RateHow much cash the company loses each month.
- MRR and ARRMonthly and annual recurring revenue, the headline numbers for subscription businesses.
- RunwayHow many months until the money runs out at the current burn rate.
- Value-Based PricingPricing from the value the customer gets, not from your costs.
- Founder-Led SalesThe founders selling personally until the sales process is understood.
- Pitch DeckThe short slide presentation founders use to explain the company to investors.
- Angel InvestorsIndividuals who invest their own money in early startups.
- Funding StagesPre-seed, seed, Series A and beyond: what each round is for and what investors expect.
- Cap TableThe record of who owns what share of the company.
- DilutionHow your ownership share shrinks each time new shares are issued.
- SAFEA simple agreement for future equity: money now, shares at the next priced round.
- SAFE Conversion MathA worked example of how a SAFE turns into shares at a priced round.
- BookkeepingRecording every transaction properly from day one, so taxes and fundraising don't become a crisis.
- UU PDPIndonesia's Personal Data Protection Law: consent, data subject rights and breach duties.
75 more mvp concepts
- Technical DebtThe future cost of shortcuts taken now.
- Multi-TenancyServing many customers from one system while keeping their data apart.
- Subscription BillingPlans, trials, renewals, failed payments and dunning.
- Invoices and ReceiptsGenerating immutable, numbered billing documents.
- MonolithOne deployable application containing all the features.
- Serverless ArchitectureBuilding from managed functions and services without running servers.
- BackupsCopies of data for restoring, and why untested backups don't count.
- PIIPersonally identifiable information that needs special care.
- Open Source LicensesMIT, Apache, GPL, and what each one lets you do.
- Privacy by DesignBuilding privacy in from the start.
- Managed vs Self-HostedPaying for convenience vs running it yourself.
- TimeboxingFixing the time and adjusting the scope.
- Scope CreepRequirements growing while a project is underway.
- PrioritizationDeciding what to do first: impact vs effort, urgent vs important.
- DogfoodingUsing your own product.
- Founder BurnoutExhaustion from the pressure of running a startup, and how founders keep going.
- Payment GatewayA service that lets you accept card, bank and e-wallet payments without building payment rails.
- Beta ProgramReleasing to a limited group to find problems before a public launch.
- Deliberate Technical DebtTaking shortcuts on purpose to learn faster, and keeping track of them.
- Cloud CreditsFree cloud usage programs for startups, and the bill that arrives when they run out.
- Customer Feedback LoopA routine for collecting, sorting and acting on what users tell you.
- Iteration SpeedHow quickly you can ship, learn and change, the main advantage a small team has.
- Startup Security BaselineThe minimum security an early startup needs before customers trust it with data.
- Launch ChannelsPlaces founders launch, such as Product Hunt, Hacker News and communities, and what each is good for.
- AARRR MetricsAcquisition, Activation, Retention, Referral, Revenue: a simple funnel for a young product.
- API as a ProductSelling programmatic access to a capability, with developers as the customers.
- Open CoreAn open-source product with paid features, hosting or support on top.
- FreemiumA free tier for most users that drives upgrades to paid plans.
- Cost-Plus PricingAdding a margin on top of your costs, and why software rarely prices this way.
- Pricing TiersGood-better-best plans that serve different customers at different prices.
- Free TrialFull access for a limited time, compared with a freemium tier.
- Pricing PageThe page that explains your plans, and the common ways it confuses buyers.
- Beachhead MarketA small market you can dominate first, then expand from.
- Paid PilotA short paid trial with a business customer to prove value before a full contract.
- Go-to-Market StrategyYour plan for who you sell to, how you reach them and how they buy.
- Ideal Customer ProfileA precise description of the customer who gets the most value and is easiest to win.
- Letter of IntentA non-binding written commitment from a customer, used as evidence of demand.
- PositioningHow you want customers to place you relative to the alternatives they know.
- Cold OutreachContacting people who don't know you yet by email or message, without spamming.
- AcceleratorsPrograms that give a small investment, mentoring and a network in exchange for equity.
- VC Power LawWhy a few huge winners return most of a fund, and what that means for the founders it backs.
- Investor UpdatesRegular short reports to investors that keep them informed and willing to help.
- Pre-Money and Post-Money ValuationThe company's value before and after new money comes in, and how ownership is calculated.
- Conversion DiscountA discount on the next round's share price for early SAFE or note investors.
- Valuation CapThe maximum valuation at which a SAFE or note converts into shares.
- Convertible NoteA loan that converts into equity later, with interest and a maturity date.
- Contractors vs EmployeesFreelancers versus employees: cost, control, legal risk and commitment.
- Startup AdvisorsExperienced people who advise in exchange for a small amount of equity, and how to pick them.
- Outsourcing DevelopmentHiring an agency or offshore team to build the product, and the risks for a startup.
- PayrollPaying employees correctly and on time: salaries, benefits and tax withholding.
- Employment ContractWhat a startup employment agreement should cover.
- Privacy PolicyThe public statement of what personal data you collect and how you use it.
- Terms of ServiceThe contract between your product and its users.
- Contractor AgreementPayment, IP ownership and ending terms for contractor work.
- TrademarkProtecting your product's name and logo, and checking you aren't infringing someone else's.
- Accounting SoftwareChoosing bookkeeping tools before the financial mess grows.
- Profit and Loss StatementThe report of revenue, costs and profit over a period.
- Startup TaxesThe taxes a young company typically meets: corporate income, VAT, payroll and withholding.
- Platform RiskDepending on another company's platform, API or app store that can change the rules.
- Indonesian Payment MethodsBank virtual accounts, e-wallets, QRIS and other ways Indonesians pay online.
- UMP Minimum WageIndonesia's provincial minimum wage and what it sets for employers.
- QRISIndonesia's national QR payment standard, accepted across banks and e-wallets.
- PSE RegistrationRegistering as an electronic system operator with the Indonesian government.
- PKP and PPNRegistering as a VAT-collecting business (PKP) and charging Indonesian VAT (PPN).
- PPh Withholding (21/23/26)Income tax you withhold from salaries, vendors and foreign payments in Indonesia.
- PT PMAAn Indonesian company with foreign shareholders, and its extra capital and sector rules.
- UMKM Final Income TaxIndonesia's simplified final income tax on gross revenue for small businesses, and when it ends.
- Singapore PDPASingapore's Personal Data Protection Act.
- Singapore Pte LtdThe Singapore private limited company, a common holding entity for regional startups.
- ACRASingapore's company registry, and the filings it requires.
- Malaysia Sdn BhdThe Malaysian private limited company.
- Singapore Startup GrantsGovernment grants and schemes for Singapore-registered startups.
- Malaysia SSTSales and service tax basics for startups operating in Malaysia.
- Singapore Corporate Tax and GSTCompany tax and GST basics for Singapore startups, before you ask an accountant.
- 83(b) ElectionA US tax filing that founders with vesting shares must make within 30 days of the grant.
Product-Market Fit
Get users who stay, pay and tell others; raise your first real round.
Core: start here
- Cohort AnalysisComparing groups who started together, tracked over their own lifetimes.
- HiringInterviewing and selecting engineers.
- Retention CurveShare of users still active over time; a curve that flattens is the clearest sign of fit.
- ActivationThe moment a new user first gets real value, and the rate at which sign-ups reach it.
- Product-Market FitWhen a product satisfies a market so well that demand starts pulling it forward.
- Sean Ellis TestA survey asking how disappointed users would be without your product, used as a fit signal.
- PivotChanging a core part of the strategy (customer, problem or solution) based on what you learned.
- Churn RateThe share of customers or revenue lost in a period.
- Unit EconomicsRevenue and cost per customer or per order, which shows whether growth makes or loses money.
- Gross MarginRevenue minus the direct cost of delivering it, as a share of revenue.
- Customer Lifetime ValueThe gross profit you expect from a customer over the whole relationship.
- Default AliveWhether the company reaches profitability on current growth before the money runs out.
- Customer Acquisition CostWhat it costs, all in, to win one new customer.
- DistributionHow your product reaches customers, which often matters more than the product itself.
- Term SheetThe short document listing a round's key terms before the legal documents are drafted.
- Fundraising MetricsThe numbers investors expect at each stage: growth, retention and burn.
- Liquidation PreferenceInvestors' right to get their money back first when the company is sold.
- Employee Stock OptionsRights for employees to buy shares at a fixed price, used to share upside.
- First HiresChoosing your first employees, who shape the culture as much as the product.
- Financial ModelA spreadsheet that projects revenue, costs, hiring and cash so you can plan and raise.
- Network EffectsA product becoming more valuable as more people use it.
- MoatA lasting advantage that keeps competitors from taking your customers or margins.
- Singapore Holding StructureA Singapore parent company owning the local operating company, and why investors prefer it.
- Delaware C-CorpThe US company type most venture investors expect.
79 more product-market fit concepts
- SEOMaking pages discoverable and well ranked by search engines.
- A/B TestingComparing two variants with real users to see which performs better.
- Dark PatternsDeceptive UI that tricks users, and why to refuse to build it.
- Feature FlagsTurning features on and off without deploying.
- Account DeletionDeleting or anonymizing a user across every table and system.
- Entitlements and Plan LimitsDeciding which features and quotas each plan unlocks.
- Coupons and DiscountsPromotions without letting them stack or be abused.
- Sales Tax and VATCharging the right tax for each customer's location.
- ProrationCharging fairly when a customer changes plans mid-cycle.
- Usage MeteringCounting billable usage accurately, without double-counting.
- AvailabilityThe share of time a system is usable, often measured in "nines".
- GDPRThe EU regulation on personal data: consent, access and deletion rights.
- Cookie ConsentAsking permission before non-essential tracking.
- PCI DSSRules for handling payment card data.
- On-CallBeing responsible for responding to production issues.
- Data StorytellingTurning analysis into a narrative that drives action.
- Retention AnalysisMeasuring whether users come back over time.
- Funnel AnalysisMeasuring how users move through a sequence of steps.
- LLM Cost and LatencyManaging tokens, model choice and caching.
- RICE and MoSCoWFrameworks for prioritizing work.
- RoadmapA plan of what to build over the coming months.
- Saying NoDeclining or pushing back on work constructively.
- Business MetricsRevenue, retention, conversion: what the business measures.
- Feature AdoptionWhether users actually use what you shipped.
- North Star MetricThe single metric that best captures the value you deliver.
- Interviewing CandidatesRunning fair interviews that produce real signal.
- Evaluating New TechnologySeparating hype from what's worth adopting.
- WedgeA narrow first product that gets you into a market you can expand from later.
- Aha MomentThe specific experience that makes a new user understand why the product matters.
- DAU/MAUDaily and monthly active users, and their ratio as a measure of how habitual a product is.
- False Product-Market FitSignals that look like fit (a press spike, one big customer, paid growth) but aren't.
- Net Promoter ScoreA survey score for how likely customers are to recommend you, and its limits.
- Power UsersThe small group that uses the product most, and what they teach you about fit.
- Word of MouthUsers bringing other users unprompted, the cheapest and strongest growth signal.
- Chicken-and-Egg ProblemA marketplace needing buyers to attract sellers and sellers to attract buyers.
- Take RateThe share of each transaction a marketplace or platform keeps as revenue.
- Vertical SaaSSoftware built for one industry, deep rather than broad.
- GMVGross merchandise value: the total value transacted on a platform, which is not revenue.
- ARPUAverage revenue per user or account.
- Break-EvenThe point where revenue covers all costs.
- Annual vs Monthly BillingTrading a discount for cash up front and lower churn.
- Price AnchoringShowing a higher reference price so the plan you want to sell looks reasonable.
- Seat-Based PricingCharging per user, the classic SaaS model, and when it stops fitting.
- Usage-Based PricingCharging for what customers consume, such as API calls, storage or transactions.
- Community-Led GrowthGrowing through a community of users who help, teach and recruit each other.
- Content MarketingAttracting customers with useful writing, videos or tools instead of ads.
- Developer MarketingReaching developers through docs, open source, communities and honesty rather than ads.
- Product-Led GrowthUsing the product itself as the main way to acquire, convert and expand customers.
- Sales PipelineThe deals in progress and the stages they move through.
- Viral LoopUsers bringing in new users as part of using the product, measured by the viral coefficient.
- Lead InvestorThe investor who sets the terms of a round and usually puts in the most money.
- Priced RoundA round where investors buy shares at an agreed price per share.
- Revenue-Based FinancingFunding repaid as a share of future revenue instead of equity.
- Running a FundraisePlanning a raise as a process: target list, meetings in parallel, momentum and closing.
- Data RoomAn organized folder of company documents shared with investors or acquirers.
- Due Diligence ChecklistWhat to prepare before investors start digging through the company.
- Investor Due DiligenceWhat investors check before investing: team, market, metrics, legal and technology.
- Founder SalaryPaying yourself enough to live but little enough to extend runway.
- Shutting Down a StartupClosing a company responsibly: employees, investors, customers and legal steps.
- Co-founder ConflictDisagreements and breakups between founders, among the most common startup killers.
- Option PoolShares set aside for future employees, and why investors ask for it before they invest.
- Startup CompensationBalancing salary and equity when you can't match big-company pay.
- Founding EngineerAn early engineering hire with broad ownership and meaningful equity.
- Cash FlowMoney actually moving in and out, which can look very different from profit.
- Option Pool ShuffleWhy investors want the option pool created before they invest, and what it costs founders.
- Data Processing AgreementThe contract covering how you handle a business customer's personal data.
- Master Service AgreementThe main contract with a business customer, with orders and terms layered on top.
- Balance SheetA snapshot of what the company owns, owes and what's left for shareholders.
- Cash vs Accrual AccountingRecording money when it moves versus when it's earned or owed.
- AI Product DefensibilityWhat protects an AI-based product when the underlying models are available to everyone.
- Switching CostsThe effort and risk for a customer to leave you, which protects revenue.
- PKWT and PKWTTFixed-term versus permanent employment contracts under Indonesian labor law.
- BPJSIndonesia's mandatory health and employment social security programs for employees.
- Severance (Pesangon)What Indonesian employers owe employees when employment ends.
- THRThe mandatory religious holiday allowance Indonesian employers pay each year.
- Singapore FlipRestructuring so a Singapore company owns the existing local business, usually before a round.
- Cash on DeliveryPaying on receipt, still common in parts of Southeast Asia, and its effect on operations.
- Super AppsOne app for rides, food, payments and more, a pattern that shapes Southeast Asian consumer tech.
- Delaware FlipRestructuring so a US Delaware company owns the existing business, often for US investors or accelerators.
Growth
Make acquisition and revenue repeatable; hire, raise and build a board.
Core: start here
- OKRsObjectives and key results for setting goals.
- CAC Payback PeriodHow many months of a customer's gross profit it takes to earn back their acquisition cost.
- LTV:CAC RatioCustomer lifetime value compared with acquisition cost, a test of whether growth pays off.
- Net Revenue RetentionRevenue kept from existing customers after churn, downgrades and expansion.
- Customer SuccessHelping customers get value after they buy, so they renew and expand.
- Enterprise SalesSelling to large organizations: many stakeholders, security reviews, procurement and long cycles.
- First Sales HireWhen and whom to hire to take over sales from the founders.
- Board of DirectorsThe group that oversees the company and the CEO on behalf of shareholders.
- Founder as CEOThe CEO's real job: vision, people, money and decisions nobody else can make.
- The CTO Role as You GrowHow a technical founder's job shifts from writing code to hiring, architecture and strategy.
- Exit StrategyHow founders and investors eventually turn equity into cash.
85 more growth concepts
- Localization (l10n)Translating and adapting software for a specific locale.
- Internationalization (i18n)Preparing software for many languages and regions.
- Email DeliverabilityBounces, spam complaints, sender reputation and staying out of spam folders.
- Multi-Currency HandlingStoring, converting and displaying money in several currencies.
- Disaster RecoveryRestoring service after a catastrophic failure.
Authentication & Authorization
- Single Sign-On (SSO)Logging in once with an identity provider and accessing many apps.
- Audit LoggingRecording who did what and when, for accountability.
- CCPACalifornia's consumer privacy law.
- Data ResidencyRequirements that data stays within certain countries.
- SOC 2An audit of how a company protects customer data.
- Cloud Cost Management (FinOps)Understanding and controlling cloud spending.
- Egress CostsPaying for data leaving the cloud.
- PostmortemA written review of an incident: what happened and how to prevent it.
- SLAA service level agreement: a promise to customers, with consequences.
- EU AI ActEU rules on AI systems and the data used to build them.
- Dashboard DesignBuilding dashboards people actually use.
- KPI DesignChoosing the few numbers that steer a team.
- Stakeholder ManagementKeeping the people affected by your work informed and aligned.
- Experimentation CultureTesting ideas with data before committing to them.
- Cost of DelayWhat it costs to ship something later.
- Onboarding New EngineersHelping new teammates become productive.
- DelegationHanding off work in a way that grows others.
- Managing Technical DebtTracking, prioritizing and paying down debt deliberately.
- Communicating with ExecutivesShort, decision-focused updates for leadership.
- Engineering CultureThe shared values and habits that shape how a team builds.
- Risk ManagementIdentifying and mitigating what could derail a project.
- Technical VisionA picture of where the technology should be in a few years.
- Budget and HeadcountPlanning people and spending.
- Technical Due DiligenceAssessing another company's technology, as in an acquisition.
- Maker vs Manager ScheduleWhy deep work and a calendar full of meetings don't mix, and how founders split them.
- Bookings, Billings and RevenueThree different numbers for "money from customers", and why mixing them up misleads.
- Burn MultipleCash burned for each dollar of new recurring revenue, a measure of growth efficiency.
- Contribution MarginWhat each sale contributes after variable costs, before fixed costs.
- Logo Churn vs Revenue ChurnLosing customers versus losing revenue, and why they can tell different stories.
- DiscountingWhen discounts help close deals and when they train customers to wait.
- Enterprise PricingCustom, "contact sales" pricing for large customers with large needs.
- Raising PricesIncreasing prices for new and existing customers without losing trust.
- Regional PricingDifferent prices per country to match local purchasing power and competition.
- Channel PartnersResellers, agencies and system integrators who sell your product for a share of revenue.
- Expansion RevenueGrowing revenue from existing customers through upsell, cross-sell and more seats.
- Growth LoopsSelf-reinforcing cycles where outputs of growth feed new growth, as opposed to linear funnels.
- Paid AcquisitionBuying users through ads, and when the unit economics allow it.
- Sales CommissionPaying salespeople: base salary, variable pay, accelerators and clawbacks.
- Sales CycleThe time and steps from first contact to signed contract.
- Sales-Led GrowthGrowing through a sales team, typically for larger and more complex deals.
- Anti-Dilution ProtectionTerms that protect investors if a later round is priced lower than theirs.
- Bridge RoundSmaller funding to extend runway until the next big round or milestone.
- Corporate Venture CapitalInvestment arms of large companies, and the strategic strings that may come with them.
- Pro Rata RightsAn investor's right to keep their ownership share by investing in later rounds.
- Signaling RiskWhen an existing investor not joining your next round scares other investors away.
- UnicornA private startup valued at one billion US dollars or more, and why the label misleads.
- Venture DebtLoans for venture-backed startups, used to extend runway with less dilution.
- Board MeetingsPreparing and running board meetings that help rather than perform.
- Company ValuesWritten principles that guide decisions when the founders aren't in the room.
- Letting People GoFiring and layoffs: doing them legally, quickly and humanely.
- Cash ManagementWhere idle company money sits, and why it should not sit still.
- Cross-Border Digital TaxVAT or GST and withholding tax when you sell software to customers in other countries.
- D&O InsuranceLiability insurance for directors and officers, often required before a priced round.
- Financial AuditAn independent check of your financial statements, often required by investors or law.
- Revenue RecognitionRules for when revenue counts as earned, such as a yearly prepayment recognized month by month.
- Counter-PositioningA business model that incumbents can't copy without hurting their own business.
- Economies of ScaleCosts per unit falling as you grow, which larger competitors can use against you.
- Regulatory RiskThe chance that laws or regulators change what your business can do.
- BI Payment Licensing (PJP)Licenses for payment companies under Bank Indonesia, separate from OJK.
- ESOP in IndonesiaHow Indonesian startups give employees equity, often through an offshore holding company.
- Foreign Worker Permits (RPTKA/IMTA)Hiring foreigners in Indonesia: plans, permits and ratios.
- Halal CertificationWhen Indonesian consumer products need halal certification and how it works.
- OJK LicensingFinancial services licensing from Indonesia's Financial Services Authority, which fintech startups need.
- P2P Lending LicenseOJK licensing for peer-to-peer lending startups.
- Securities CrowdfundingRaising from many small investors through licensed platforms.
- TKDNIndonesia's local content requirement for some products and government procurement.
- Malaysia Digital StatusMalaysia's incentive status for tech companies, run by MDEC.
- Malaysia PDPAMalaysia's Personal Data Protection Act.
- Regional Expansion in Southeast AsiaExpanding from one Southeast Asian country to others: order, entities and localization.
- Southeast Asian Country DifferencesHow Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines differ for a startup.
- China PIPLChina's Personal Information Protection Law.
- Entering the EU MarketSelling into the European Union: GDPR, VAT, languages and many separate markets.
- Entering the US MarketSelling to US customers: entity, sales motion, pricing and the cost of competing there.
- ICP LicenseThe license websites need to be hosted in mainland China.
- J-KISSJapan's standard convertible equity instrument for seed funding, similar to a SAFE.
- Japan KK vs GKJapan's two main company types: the kabushiki kaisha and the godo kaisha.
- Korea PIPASouth Korea's Personal Information Protection Act.
- Korea TIPS ProgramSouth Korea's government-backed program that matches private startup investment with R&D funding.
- QSBSA US tax exclusion on gains from qualified small business stock.
- Thailand BOI IncentivesInvestment incentives for tech companies setting up in Thailand.
Scale
Run the company: organization, moats, new markets and exits. Repeat-founder territory.
Core: start here
- Organization DesignStructuring teams and reporting lines.
- Rule of 40A rule of thumb that growth rate plus profit margin should reach about 40% for a healthy SaaS company.
- Hiring ExecutivesBringing in experienced leaders above early employees, and why it often goes wrong.
- International ExpansionEntering new countries: when to do it, entity setup, localization and local hires.
- Seven PowersHamilton Helmer's framework of seven sources of durable business advantage.
- Startup AcquisitionSelling the company to another company: process, valuation and what founders give up.
13 more scale concepts
- Technical StrategyA plan for reaching the vision under real constraints.
- Long-Term ThinkingMaking decisions whose payoff comes years later.
- Down RoundRaising at a lower valuation than the previous round, and its consequences.
- Secondary SaleFounders or early holders selling existing shares, as opposed to the company issuing new ones.
- Transfer PricingPricing transactions between your own companies in different countries, which tax authorities scrutinize.
- Acqui-hireAn acquisition mainly to hire the team, with the product often shut down.
- Aggregation TheoryHow internet platforms win by owning the user relationship and commoditizing suppliers.
- BlitzscalingPrioritizing speed over efficiency to win a market, and the risks of doing it.
- IPOListing the company's shares on a public stock exchange.
- Entering the Chinese MarketWhy China is a separate internet market, and what foreign startups face there.
- Entering the Japanese MarketSelling in Japan: trust, partners, localization and a long enterprise sales cycle.
- Entering the Korean MarketSelling in South Korea: local platforms, language and strong domestic competitors.
- VIE StructureThe contract-based structure that lets foreign investors gain economic exposure to Chinese companies in restricted sectors.