Disrupting disruption with disruptive disruptions since 2010.
A handshake agreement between friends to keep something confidential—no lawyers, no paperwork, just mutual trust and the vague hope nobody steals your million-dollar idea. It's an NDA for people too broke to afford an actual NDA.
To speed something up faster than its natural pace—the startup equivalent of hitting the gas pedal on your growth metrics. Often used by VCs who want their portfolio companies to move at warp speed regardless of whether the infrastructure can handle it.
A half-baked version of your product with just enough features to validate whether customers actually want it—or to prove they don't.
The total revenue opportunity for your market—a number your pitch deck inflates by roughly 500%.
The second institutional round where your company proves Series A wasn't a fluke—investors pony up $15M-$50M hoping you've figured out unit economics.
A person who owns money and loves owning more money, preferably through means that maximize wealth accumulation. The ideological cheerleader for markets and minimal regulation.
The process of pitching your deck to many investors in sequence, iterating based on feedback. Like a miserable version of speed dating.
A contractual mechanism that shields early investors from dilution when a startup raises money at a lower valuation than previous rounds. It's basically insurance against your company becoming less cool than you thought it was.
A protective mechanism for investors that actually dilutes founders more if the company gets a down round; the cruel irony of startup investing.
The startup world's polite euphemism for cashing out and abandoning ship, ideally with a massive payday that makes all those 80-hour weeks seem worthwhile. Can range from a glorious IPO or acquisition to quietly shutting down operations while pretending you 'pivoted to consulting.' It's the entrepreneurial equivalent of checking out of a hotel, except you're either leaving with millions or owing money to everyone you know.
Simple Agreement for Future Tokens—a legal instrument for investing in future cryptocurrency tokens, for when you want equity but make it crypto.
Monthly Recurring Revenue—the predictable revenue generated each month from subscription customers, the metric that makes investors weep with joy.
A startup's dream scenario where it becomes a public company and founders finally get to sell their stock—statistically less likely than winning the lottery.
Large corporations that businesses try to sell to—known for 9-month sales cycles, multiple stakeholder sign-offs, and IT departments that say 'we'll think about it' for years.
An independent appraisal of your private company's value for tax purposes—made by third parties specifically so the IRS can't argue your strike price was fraudulently low.
An independent contractor hired on a project basis rather than as a full-time employee. Startups use them to avoid benefits/taxes, contractors love them for flexibility.
When a company buys another startup not for its product, but primarily for its team. The startup equivalent of a zombie becoming useful.
A sudden, catastrophic drop in value, performance, or viability—the moment your startup's growth chart becomes a ski slope in the wrong direction. Often used in VC circles to describe what happens when a company hits its scaling limit without a parachute.
A business and startup jargon term describing an exit strategy or way to gracefully exit a situation, deal, or initiative. Think of it as the metaphorical highway exit when the original plan isn't working out.
A startup incubator or venture capital term for an early-stage company breeding ground where fledgling ideas get fed, nurtured, and hopefully don't die under fluorescent lights. Think of it as the preschool for businesses that haven't figured out profitability yet.
The price per share at which employees can exercise their stock options. Set artificially low so they can actually afford to buy their equity on the off chance it's worth something.
When a highly-valued startup implodes through mismanagement, fraud, or 'the market wasn't ready'—basically Elizabeth Holmes energy.
Institutions or individuals who invest capital into VC funds. The people whose retirement money is being gambled on whether your app will work.
A small-scale demonstration that your idea actually works before you burn through millions scaling something that doesn't.