Startup Glossary for Non-Tech Founders

Startup Glossary for Non-Tech Founders

Hi! I’m Masha, a copywriter at CherryPick Agency.

If you’ve ever launched a startup or just chatted with developers, you’ve probably felt this: everyone seems friendly, but they’re speaking a whole other language. Juniors, sprints, prod, pull requests... Sounds like a random sounds generator. And yes, sometimes it’s scary to ask what things mean — you don’t want to look “out of the loop.”

I get you. When I first joined CherryPick, I felt totally lost in early meetings. That’s why Olesya, our Chief Human Resources Officer, and I decided to put together this dev glossary — short, simple, and to the point. Just the basics. Just what actually helps you understand what’s going on and feel confident in the process.

Web Development

Activation

The moment a user gets real value from your product for the first time. In a social app, that could be adding a friend or posting something.

Backlog

A list of all the project’s tasks and ideas — from major features to tiny bugs. The team pulls from this list and decides what to work on next.

Code Review

When another developer reviews your code. It helps catch bugs, improve architecture, and spark new ideas. Think of it like asking a teammate to proofread your draft before publishing.

Conversion

The percentage of users who complete a goal — signing up, buying, subscribing. If 100 people visit your site and 5 buy, your conversion rate is 5%.

CRUD

This one’s a classic. Four basic actions that power almost any app:

• C — Create
• R — Read
• U — Update
• D — Delete

Signing up, reading an article, editing your profile, deleting a comment — all CRUD.

Deploy

The process of moving code from development to production. It includes building the app, testing it, and launching it to real users. It's the moment when a draft becomes the real thing.

Feature

A function that brings value to the user — like contactless payments in a banking app or dark mode in a messenger. The more useful features, the better the experience.

Flutter

A tech that lets you build one app for both Android and iOS. One codebase — two platforms. Faster, cheaper, and more efficient.

Framework

A ready-made foundation for development — like a starter kit. Includes libraries, classes, and functions. For example, Django (Python) or Spring (Java).

Frontend / Backend

• Frontend — what users see: websites, buttons, animations.
• Backend — what runs under the hood: logic, data, and processing.

You click "Pay" (frontend), and the backend talks to your bank.

Kano Model

A method for understanding what features users truly love versus what they just expect. Features are grouped into:

• Basic — users expect them (e.g., security)
• Performance — more is better (e.g., speed)
• Delighters — unexpected but delightful (e.g., fancy animation)

Legacy

Old code that’s still used but built with outdated practices. It’s hard to maintain, often buggy, and risky — but removing it isn’t always easy.

MCP (Multi-Component Product)

A product made of multiple interconnected parts — like a user app, admin panel, and API. Each works separately, but together they form one system. Building this well takes coordination and good architecture.

MVP (Minimum Viable Product)

The most basic working version of a product. It’s not perfect — but you can show it to users, test the idea, and get feedback before spending months on a “super app.”

Open Source

Software with publicly available code. Anyone can use it, change it, and build on it. Examples: Firefox, Linux.

Pet Project

A side project you do for fun or learning — not for money. For example, building a fitness tracker or a Telegram bot in your spare time.

Prod (Production)

The final, live version of your product. The one users actually see. Until then, it’s just a draft — but once it’s live, it’s in prod.

Pull Request

A developer submits code and says, “Hey team, check this out.” The team reviews it, gives feedback, and merges it into the project. Think of it as a code proposal with comments.

Repository

Where your code lives. Like a shared folder, but smarter — with access control, versioning, and tools to prevent mistakes.

Stack

The set of technologies used to build a product — languages, frameworks, databases, etc. It’s like a recipe that defines how your app works.

Task

A single, specific job — like adding a feature, fixing a bug, or writing tests. Tasks break big projects into manageable chunks.

AI

LLM (Large Language Model)

A powerful AI model trained on massive amounts of text — like ChatGPT. It can write, code, answer questions, and more. Used in chatbots, automation, search engines, and beyond.

NLP (Natural Language Processing)

Tech that helps machines understand human language. NLP powers chatbots, voice assistants, spam filters, and more.

AI Agents

Digital helpers that don’t just chat — they act. They can schedule meetings, answer clients, analyze documents. Built on LLMs, they’re becoming a big part of the future.

DevOps

CI/CD

Continuous Integration / Continuous Delivery. Sounds fancy, but it just means your code gets automatically tested and deployed. Faster, safer, no manual headaches.

CDN (Content Delivery Network)

A global network of servers that makes websites load faster. Instead of loading content from one faraway place, users get it from the nearest server. Speeds things up and improves reliability — especially for global apps.

DevOps

People and tools that keep things running smoothly. They make sure updates go live, bugs get caught early, and everything works for your users. The backstage crew of tech.

Regression Testing

Double-checking that new updates didn’t break old features. Like: “Did the login still work after the redesign?” That’s regression testing.

QA (Quality Assurance)

Testers who make sure everything works as it should. They click every button, break every edge case, and catch bugs before users do.

Product & Analytics

Agile

A flexible approach to building products. You break work into short cycles, deliver often, and adapt as needed. Perfect when things move fast and goals shift.

DAU / WAU / MAU

The trio of user activity metrics:

• DAU (Daily Active Users) — how many people use it daily
• WAU (Weekly Active Users) — how many per week
• MAU (Monthly Active Users) — how many per month

The higher they are, the more alive your product is.

Kanban

A simple way to manage tasks. A board with columns like “To Do,” “In Progress,” “Done.” Clear and visual.

PM (Project Manager)

The person holding everything together. Tasks, timelines, team, client — the PM makes sure it all moves forward. Without one, things fall apart.

Retention / Churn

• Retention — the % of users who stick around
• Churn — the % of users who leave

Say you launch a fitness app — retention shows who’s still working out a month later, churn shows who deleted it.

Scrum

Another way to organize teamwork. You work in short “sprints,” hold regular check-ins, and focus on steady progress.

(Not sure if you need Scrum or Kanban? We wrote a separate post about that → link.)

Final Note

If you’ve made it this far — congrats! You’re now one step closer to understanding your dev team and holding your own in meetings.

Want a Part 2? We can cover things like TMA, API, PWA, and all those scary acronyms that sound worse than “deadline on Friday.”

We just want you to feel calm and confident — even in the middle of a chaotic product launch.