Category:Business terms

value added: originally, the difference between the cost of bought-in materials and the eventual selling price of the finished product

value-added tax: a tax added at each stage in the manufacture of a product. It acts as a replacement for a sales tax in almost every industrialized country outside North America.

variable annuity: an annuity whose payments depend either on the success of investments that underlie it, or on the value of the index

variable cost: a cost of production that is directly proportional to the number of units produced

variable interest rate: an interest rate that changes, usually in relation to a standard index, during the period of the loan

venture capital: money used to finance new companies or projects, especially those with high earning potential and high risk.

venture funding: the round of funding for a new company that follows seed funding provided by venture capitalists.

venture management: the collaboration of various sections within an organization to encourage entrepreneurial spirit, increase innovation, and produce successful new products more quickly

verbal contract: an agreement that is oral and not written down. It remains legally enforceable by the parties who have agreed to it.

vertical market: a market that is oriented to one particular specialty, for example, plastics manufacturing or transportation engineering

viral marketing: the rapid spread of a message about a new product or service in a similar way to the spread of a virus

virtual organization: a temporary network of companies, suppliers, customers, or employees, linked by information and communications technologies, with the purpose of delivering a service or product.

vision statement: a statement giving a broad, aspirational image of the future that an organization is aiming to achieve.

voting rights: the rights that shareholders have to vote on matters affecting a corporation

vulture capitalist: a venture capitalist who structures deals on behalf of an entrepreneur in such a way that the investors benefit rather than the entrepreneur