An individual who invests personal capital in very early companies — usually before institutions will. Often the first outside money on a cap table.
The internal rulebook of a company — how directors are appointed, how shares move, how decisions are made. Filed at incorporation with the MoA.
The maximum share capital a company may issue, declared at incorporation. Raising it later is possible but involves a filing — declare sensibly now.
Building on revenue and personal funds instead of investment. Slower, but every decision stays yours.
The point where revenue first covers total costs. Investors expect the calculation; founders are usually surprised by it.
Monthly net cash outflow. Divide your bank balance by it and you get your runway — the most honest number in a startup.
Total sales and marketing spend divided by customers won. The number that decides whether growth is an engine or a leak.
The ledger of who owns what percentage of the company. Clean cap tables raise money; messy ones explain why some don't.
The rate at which customers stop buying. Retention work is almost always cheaper than acquisition work — churn is where to look first.
The 21-character ID the MCA assigns at incorporation, appearing on every official document your company files thereafter.
The schedule of statutory filings and payments your entity owes through the year. Ours arrives with every incorporation, in plain English.
The system of record for every lead and customer interaction. Implemented well, nothing falls through; implemented badly, it's data entry.
A lifetime identification number every company director must hold before appointment. Obtained during incorporation.
Government recognition of a startup under Startup India — unlocking tax benefits, easier compliance, and credibility. Free to obtain.
The cryptographic signature used to sign government filings electronically. Required for directors before incorporation can be filed.
The investigation an investor or acquirer runs on your company before committing. Clean books and filed compliance are most of passing it.
Operating profitability before financing and accounting choices. A common shorthand for 'is the core business making money?'
Ownership in the company, expressed in shares. Everything you grant — to co-founders, employees, investors — comes from the same 100%.
A pool of equity reserved for employees. Practical only in a Pvt. Ltd. structure — one reason funding-bound founders choose it.
Your 15-character GST identity. Required to issue tax invoices and claim input credit — usually the first registration a business actually feels.
The periodic returns (monthly/quarterly) every GST-registered business files. Missing them accrues late fees silently — automation or outsourcing pays for itself here.
The GST you paid on purchases, credited against the GST you collect on sales. Properly kept books are the difference between claiming it and donating it.
The intangible assets — name, mark, code, content — that competitors can copy if unprotected. Trademarks are usually a new business's first IP filing.
The handful of numbers that actually indicate whether the business is working. If everything is a KPI, nothing is.
Something genuinely useful offered in exchange for contact details — a checklist, a calculator, a course. The honest start of an email list.
A partnership with limited liability and lighter compliance than a company. Suits service firms not seeking equity investment.
Total revenue expected from one customer over the relationship. Healthy businesses keep LTV comfortably above CAC.
The charter defining what your company exists to do and the scope it may operate in. Drafted at incorporation.
The government classification unlocking subsidies, credit schemes, and tender access — claimed through Udyam registration.
The smallest version of a product that lets real users generate real learning. The discipline is in the word minimum.
The contract that keeps shared information confidential. Usually the first document a new business signs — and over-feared relative to its power.
A company structure for a single founder wanting limited liability without partners. Converts to Pvt. Ltd. as the business grows.
The tax identity of a person or entity. Your company gets its own at incorporation — separate from yours, like everything else about it.
The 10–15 slide narrative of problem, solution, market, traction, and ask. Read in three minutes; remembered — or not — for much longer.
The standard structure for startups intending to raise investment, issue ESOPs, or scale with shareholders. Highest compliance, highest credibility.
Revenue generated per rupee of advertising. The first number to watch in paid campaigns — and the easiest to inflate with bad attribution.
The MCA office your company reports to annually. Missed ROC deadlines are how healthy companies acquire penalties.
Months of operation your cash can fund at the current burn rate. Every plan should state what it does to the runway.
The practice of being found when customers search. Compounds slowly, decays slowly — the opposite of ads in both directions.
A written commitment to response and resolution times. Ours is 24 hours, in the contract — not on a poster.
Required the moment you deduct tax at source — typically your first salaried hire. Issued with incorporation in our process.
Tax withheld when paying salaries, rent, or professional fees, deposited on the payee's behalf. Becoming an employer makes you a deductor.
The non-binding summary of an investment's key terms — valuation, board, rights. The negotiation happens here; the legal documents follow it.
One of 45 categories under which marks are registered. Filing in the wrong class protects a name nobody is using against you.
The government registration recognising your business as an MSME — subsidies, credit access, tender eligibility. The cheapest credibility in Indian business.
Profit and loss for a single unit — one customer, one order, one subscription. If the unit loses money, scale only makes it worse, faster.
What the company is worth on paper, set when investment is priced. A number that matters enormously twice — at raise and at exit — and very little in between.
Institutional investment in exchange for equity, built for businesses that can grow very large, very fast. Most good businesses should never take it — by design.
The cash that funds the gap between paying suppliers and being paid by customers. Most small-business cash crises are working-capital crises wearing a disguise.
Ask us directly — defining things plainly is most of consulting.
