An accelerator is a fixed term program, often around three months, that helps early startups grow fast. A group of companies joins at the same time as a cohort, gets mentoring, workshops and investor connections, and usually receives a small investment in exchange for equity. Most programs end with a demo day where founders pitch to investors.

An incubator is a program or organization that helps very early startups, often at the idea or prototype stage, by giving them workspace, mentoring, training and connections. Many incubators are run by universities, governments, nonprofits or large companies. They usually run longer and more flexibly than accelerators, and some take little or no equity in return.

An acqui-hire is when a larger company acquires a startup mainly to hire its team rather than to keep its product. The buyer usually shuts down or absorbs the product, and the engineers, designers or researchers join the acquirer, often with new employment packages. It is common when a startup has strong talent but has not found a sustainable business.

An exit is the event that lets a startup’s founders, employees and investors sell their shares and turn ownership into cash. The most common exits are being acquired by another company, listing on a stock exchange through an IPO, or selling shares to new buyers in a secondary sale. Without an exit, startup equity usually stays on paper.