Glossary of Business Incubation Terms

Angel investor: A person who provides backing to very early stage businesses or business concepts; typically “high net worth” entrepreneurs who have been successful, often in technology-related industries.
Business plan: A document that describes the entrepreneur’s idea, the market problem, a proposed solution, business and revenue models, a marketing strategy, technology, a company profile, the competitive landscape, and financial projections.
Incubator: An entity designed to nurture business concepts to the point where they become attractive to venture capitalists. An incubator typically provides both physical space and some or all of the services — legal, managerial, and/or technical — needed for a business concept to be developed.
Intellectual property: A venture’s intangible assets, such as patents, copyrights, trademarks, and brand name.
SBIC: Small Business Investment Company; a company licensed by the Small Business Administration to receive government leverage to raise capital for use in venture investing.
SBIR: Small Business Innovation Research Program, a set-aside program for domestic small business concerns to engage in research and development that has the potential for commercialization. This program was established under the Small Business Innovation Development Act of 1982.
Small Business Administration (SBA): Provides loans to SBICs that supply venture capital and financing to small businesses. 
SWOT analysis: An analysis of a prospective business’s strengths, weaknesses, obstacles, and threats.
Venture capital financing: An investment in a startup business that has excellent growth prospects but no access to capital markets; the type of financing that early stage companies seek to grow rapidly.