Disrupting disruption with disruptive disruptions since 2010.
The time window (usually 3-5 years) during which a venture fund actively deploys capital into new investments, after which the GP is supposed to stop writing checks and focus on managing the existing portfolio. Think of it as the VC equivalent of last call at the bar.
The driving force or stimulus that gets something moving, whether it's a business initiative, social movement, or your motivation to finally start that side project. In startup land, it's whatever convinces founders they can disrupt an industry, usually a personal pain point or too much coffee. Think of it as the corporate equivalent of "what sparked this terrible/brilliant idea?"
The act of reducing ownership percentage by issuing new shares, or what happens to founders' equity every time VCs open their checkbooks. In chemistry, it means adding solvent to weaken a solution; in startup world, it means your 50% stake just became 30% and you're supposed to smile because the company is now "worth more." The most expensive way to raise money without technically losing money.
Protective clauses that let early investors maintain their ownership percentage when future rounds price lower, punishing founders for failing to maintain perpetual hockey stick growth. Comes in weighted-average and full-ratchet flavors of pain.
An introduction to an investor or customer through a mutual connection, vastly more effective than cold outreach. The difference between your email being read and being instantly deleted by an EA.
An environment so ripe for growth and innovation (or chaos) that ideas, startups, or scandals practically germinate themselves. Think of it as nature's incubator, except with better heating and fewer regulatory compliance issues.
The handful of key performance indicators that actually determine business health versus the vanity metrics founders cite in pitch meetings. Revenue and retention versus social media followers and press mentions.
A startup that returns an entire venture fund's value through a single investment, making every other deal in the portfolio irrelevant. Rarer than unicorns and more impactful than a hundred modest successes combined.
Sequential institutional funding rounds designated by letters, theoretically indicating maturity but practically just measuring how much money you've convinced people to give you. The alphabet of ambition.
A financing round where new investors impose unfavorable terms on existing shareholders who lack the power to block it. Essentially a hostile takeover by people already inside your building.
A funding round where only existing investors participate, with no new outside investors joining. It's either a vote of confidence from believers or a sign that no one else wanted in.
A shareholder who has contractual rights to approve or block an acquisition or IPO, giving them veto power over exit decisions regardless of ownership percentage. Democracy in action, if democracy meant a small group could overrule the majority.
The total revenue opportunity for your market—a number your pitch deck inflates by roughly 500%.
A provision that speeds up the vesting of unvested equity upon specific events like acquisition or termination. It's the golden parachute for startup employees who might otherwise get screwed by good news.
A supplemental investment vehicle created alongside a main fund to accommodate additional capital from LPs or special investors, often for a specific deal or opportunity too large for the main fund. The VC version of ordering extra fries because one serving isn't enough.
A provision forcing minority shareholders to join a sale if majority shareholders approve it, preventing holdouts from blocking acquisitions. Democracy dies in shareholder agreements.
When expansion revenue from existing customers exceeds lost revenue from cancellations, the holy grail of SaaS metrics. It's losing customers but somehow making more money anyway.
A venture capital firm that's functionally dead but still managing old funds, unable to raise new capital but too undead to fully shut down. They're not investing in new companies but still collecting management fees from their limited partners.
A financing round at a higher valuation than previous rounds, signaling growth and traction to the market. The opposite of a down round and considerably better for everyone's mood, if not always their long-term prospects.
The total revenue you expect from one customer during their entire relationship with your company—usually wildly overestimated.
A mechanical advantage device that pivots on a fulcrum to multiply force, or in startup parlance, anything you can use to do more with less. Every MBA in Silicon Valley thinks they've found a "lever" to pull, usually right before asking for $5M in seed funding. Physics teachers hate how loosely VCs use this term, but hey, at least someone's paying attention to simple machines.
IRS tax designation (Section 1202) that can exclude up to $10 million in gains from federal taxes for early startup investors, assuming you navigate the Byzantine requirements. The tax break that makes angel investing slightly less insane.
The most aggressive anti-dilution protection where early investors' conversion price adjusts to match a down round price, regardless of how small the down round is. Financial punishment for daring to need more money.
Your master plan for how you'll actually convince humans to exchange money for your product, typically involving buzzwords like 'omnichannel' and 'vertical integration.' It's the section of your pitch deck you update most frequently as each approach fails.