Death Valley

Definition

The phase between seed funding and Series A where many startups run out of money and crash; basically startup purgatory.

Example Usage

We're in Death Valley right now with 3 months of runway and no Series A conversations scheduled.

Origin

Metaphorical reference to the geographical Death Valley in California

Fun Fact

Most startups fail in Death Valley, not after raising millions

Source: Startup life cycle terminology

Related Terms

Advanced

burn multiple

A capital efficiency metric calculated as net burn divided by net new ARR, measuring how many dollars a company incincinerates to generate each dollar of recurring revenue. A burn multiple under 1.5x suggests efficiency; above 3x suggests a bonfire of investor capital.

🚀 Startup / VC

Intermediate

land grab

Aggressively pursuing market share and user growth at the expense of profitability or unit economics, betting that dominance now will create a moat later. It's monopoly thinking fueled by venture capital.

🚀 Startup / VC

Beginner

innovate

The corporate buzzword for 'doing something new' that appears in every mission statement and keynote presentation. To innovate is to revolutionize or introduce novelty, though in practice it often means adding an app to something that worked fine without one. Companies that claim to innovate daily are usually just iterating on someone else's idea with a slightly different shade of blue.

🚀 Startup / VC

Intermediate

valuing

The process of slapping a number on something that probably doesn't have a real value. In venture capital, it's educated guessing dressed up as financial analysis—your startup is worth $100M because we feel like it is, and also because everyone else paid way too much for similar companies.

🚀 Startup / VC

Intermediate

Exit Strategy

The plan for how founders and investors will eventually cash out, ranging from IPO to acquisition to quietly shutting down and pretending it never happened. It's planning your escape route before you've even built the building.

🚀 Startup / VC

Intermediate

proprietary deal flow

Investment opportunities sourced through unique channels rather than pitch competitions and cold emails, giving VCs the illusion they've discovered something competitors haven't. Usually just means they have better interns.

🚀 Startup / VC

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