Startup Vocabulary Essentials
Core terminology every founder needs — MVP, runway, burn rate, pivot, cap table, and more
Who it's for
Written for B1 (intermediate) students who handle everyday English and are ready for longer answers.
English for founders: pitches, investors, demos and startup vocabulary. More Startup English lesson plans
Skills it practises
- Speaking: discussion questionsevery lesson
- Vocabulary: a target word listevery lesson
- Reading: a text or news storyevery lesson
- Controlled practice: gap-fills, matching, sorting and moreevery lesson
- Role-play: a dialogue to act outevery lesson
- An answer framework to structure what they say1 of 8 lessons
Lessons
- Startup LifecycleGoal: use at least five lifecycle terms — MVP, traction, product-market fit, pivot, exit — correctly in a 60-second story of a startup's journey.1 hr 13 minFree
- Funding RoundsGoal: explain the funding ladder — pre-seed to Series A and beyond — to a future co-founder, using at least six funding terms with sizes and purposes.1 hr 7 minOutline
- Equity & Cap TableGoal: explain an equity offer to a new employee — vesting, cliff, dilution, option pool — with the share arithmetic right and the honest parts volunteered.1 hr 7 minOutline
- Revenue ModelsGoal: answer 'how do you make money?' using five revenue-model terms and consistent numbers — including one model you rejected and why.1 hr 7 minOutline
- Product Development TermsGoal: deliver a 30-second standup and a one-minute sprint plan using five agile terms — sprint, standup, ship, retrospective, iteration — accurately.1 hr 14 minOutline
- Legal & ComplianceGoal: run a four-area legal check-in — company, IP, people, data — using at least five legal terms correctly, with one concrete ask per area.1 hr 7 minOutline
- Marketing & Growth HackingGoal: pitch a one-minute growth plan — two channels, one experiment, one number — using five growth terms from viral loop to flywheel correctly.1 hr 7 minOutline
- Startup Culture VocabularyGoal: describe a company's culture to a candidate using five culture terms with a concrete practice behind each — and one honest downside, volunteered.1 hr 7 minOutline
How to use it in a lesson
- Lessons run 67 to 74 minutes, with a timing on every stage, so you can see before you start what fits your slot.
- Start with "Startup Lifecycle": its whole plan is on this site, stage by stage, with the target vocabulary, free to read and to teach from on any video call.
- For a shorter slot, skip a practice stage or cut the discussion short: the stages are a guide, not a script.
Teach Startup Vocabulary Essentials with your student
Lesson 1 of this course is free. A free account opens it in the interactive player, and the rest of the course is included with Starter. Teaching it live with your student in the Tuton classroom starts with a 7-day free trial.
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