# Learn the language of the private markets

> Today we're launching the Hill Glossary, a free, plain-English guide to the terms, structures, and jargon that have long kept private markets behind closed doors.

Published: 2026-03-19

Today we're launching the [Hill Glossary](https://hill.com/learn/glossary), a free, plain-English guide to the terms, structures, and jargon of the private markets. From SAFEs and 409A valuations to tender offers, secondary markets, and QSBS, the language of private investing has long been a barrier in itself. The glossary is our first step toward removing it.

## What's inside

The glossary covers the most important terms in private markets and pre-IPO investing, each with a short, clear definition and a deeper explanation for when you want the full picture. Terms are organized alphabetically and linked to related concepts, so reading about a cap table leads you naturally to common stock, preferred stock, and option pools. It's built to be browsed start to finish or searched for the one term you hit in a deal.

## Why it matters

Private markets have stayed exclusive partly because they're complicated, and that complexity is often the point. You can't evaluate an opportunity you don't have the words for. By making the fundamentals free and easy to understand, we're giving more people the confidence to explore private investing on their own terms.

This is a core part of Hill's mission to bring the private markets to every household. Access starts with understanding, and the glossary is the foundation we'll keep building on as we add new terms and connect them throughout the Hill experience.

[Explore the Hill Glossary →](https://hill.com/learn/glossary)