Liquidity preference is the right to receive a specific value for the stock if the business is liquidated.

Lock-Up Period is the period an investor must wait before selling or trading company shares subsequent to an exit, usually in an initial public offering the lock-up period is determined by the underwriters.

Management Buy-in or MBI is the purchase of a business by an outside team of managers who have found financial backers and plan to manage the business actively themselves.

Management Buy-out or MBO is the term used for the funds provided to enable operating management to acquire a product line or business, which may be at any stage of development, from either a public or private company.

The unique blend of product pricing, promotion, offerings, and distribution designed to meet the needs of a specific group of customers.

Master limited partnership or MLP is a limited partnership that is publicly traded. MLP combines the tax benefits of a limited partnership with the liquidity of publicly traded securities.

Mezzanine debts are debts that incorporates equity-based options, such as warrants, with a lower-priority debt. Mezzanine debt is actually closer to equity than debt, in that the debt is usually only of importance in the event of bankruptcy. Mezzanine debt is often used to finance acquisitions and buyouts, where it can be used to prioritize new owners ahead of existing owners in the event that a bankruptcy occurs.

Mezzanine level is a term used to describe a company which is somewhere between startup and IPO. Venture capital committed at mezzanine level usually has less risk but less potential appreciation than at the startup level, and more risk but more potential appreciation than in an IPO.

Mezzanine Financing is a late-stage venture capital, usually the final round of financing prior to an IPO. Mezzanine Financing is for a company expecting to go public usually within 6 to 12 months, usually so structured to be repaid from proceeds of a public offerings, or to establish floor price for public offer.

People employed to pose as consumers and shop at the competitors and their own stores to compare prices, displays, etc.

The Net Present Value (NPV) is the present value of an investment's future net cash flows minus the initial investment. If positive, the investment should be made (unless an even better investment exists), otherwise it should not.

Pitch is the set of activities intended to persuade someone to buy a product or take a specific course of action.

A portfolio company is a company or entity in which a venture capital firm or buyout firm invests. All of the companies currently backed by a private equity firm can be spoken of as the firm’s portfolio.

Private Investment in Public Equity or PIPE is a term used when a private investment or mutual fund buys common stock for a company at a discount to the current market value per share.

Private placement is a term used specifically to denote a private investment in a company that is publicly held. Private equity firms that invest in publicly traded companies sometimes use the acronym PIPEs to describe the activity. Private placements do not have to be registered with organizations such as the SEC because no public offering is involved.

The Product Life Cycle is an analytical consulting method to understand the product passes: research and development, growth, expansion, maturity, saturation, and decline. In the research stage, there are no sales at all. In the growth stage, sales are slow and often need to be supplemented by heavy sales and advertising efforts. In the expansion stage, sales may grow more rapidly. In the maturity stage, sales start slowing down as most people who might want the product already have it. In the saturation stage, everyone who wants the product has it, and there are few opportunities for increasing sales. In the decline stage, sales fall and the product eventually becomes obsolete. 

Recapitalization is a financing technique used by companies to defend against hostile takeovers. By recapitalization, a company restructures it's debt and equity mixture without affecting the total amount of balance sheet equity.

Resyndication Limited Partnership is a limited partnership in which existing properties are sold to new limited partners, so that they can receive the tax advantages that are no longer available to the old partners.

Return On Investment or ROI is the profit or loss resulting from an investment transaction, usually expressed as an annual percentage return. ROI is a return ratio that compares the net benefits of a project verses its total costs.

Risk capital are funds made available for startup firms and small businesses with exceptional growth potential.

Round of funding is the stage of financing a start-up company is in. The usual progression is from startup to first round to mezzanine to pre-IPO.

Second Stage Capital is the capital provided to expand marketing and meet growing working capital need of an enterprise that has commenced production but does not have positive cash flows sufficient to take care of its growing needs.