Disrupting disruption with disruptive disruptions since 2010.
A startup fundraising round with overwhelming investor demand, usually led by a top-tier firm with multiple others fighting for allocation. The velvet rope nightclub of venture capital.
A go-to-market strategy where the product itself drives customer acquisition, retention, and expansion rather than traditional sales teams. Users fall in love before ever talking to a salesperson.
Preferred stock that must choose between taking its liquidation preference OR converting to common and sharing the remaining proceeds—can't do both. The slightly-less-greedy version of investor terms.
The noble art of convincing individuals, corporations, and foundations to part with their money for your cause, institution, or startup dream. In education, it's what keeps universities building new buildings with donors' names on them. In nonprofits and startups, it's a full-time job disguised as networking events and carefully crafted pitch decks.
The total revenue opportunity for your market—a number your pitch deck inflates by roughly 500%.
Startups built on fundamental scientific breakthroughs rather than clever software—the kind of company that requires physics PhDs and takes 10 years to become profitable, beloved by investors who want long-term moonshots.
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.
That mythical moment when your product stops being something you force people to use and they actually want it. Also known as 'the point founders finally sleep at night.'
A startup that aims to be both profitable AND socially responsible, as opposed to unicorns that prioritize growth at any cost. They're real, sustainable, and less likely to leave a trail of layoffs and burned capital.
Net Promoter Score—a survey asking customers how likely they are to recommend you (0-10). Mostly used to confirm whatever founders already believe about customer satisfaction.
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.
Serviceable Obtainable Market—what you can realistically capture in the first 3-5 years. It's the intersection of TAM, SAM, and aggressive optimism.
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 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 half-baked version of your product with just enough features to validate whether customers actually want it—or to prove they don't.
To abandon ship faster than a rat on the Titanic. In startup parlance, when a feature, product, or entire business model gets the axe because it's hemorrhaging money or nobody wants it. No ceremony, no fanfare—just gone.
Monthly Recurring Revenue—the predictable revenue generated each month from subscription customers, the metric that makes investors weep with joy.
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.
A spreadsheet showing who owns what percentage of your company, updated regularly as you dilute yourself with more funding rounds.
Proof that actual humans are willing to pay actual money for your product, the ultimate validation for the venture capital community.
A small-scale demonstration that your idea actually works before you burn through millions scaling something that doesn't.
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.
Simple Agreement for Future Tokens—a legal instrument for investing in future cryptocurrency tokens, for when you want equity but make it crypto.
A competitive advantage based on how easily you can reach customers. Spoiler alert: most startups don't have one and never will.