Defensibility

Definition

A venture capitalist's way of asking 'why won't everyone else just copy your idea in six months?' Often answered with 'moat' or 'network effects,' which are sometimes real.

Example Usage

The VC asked about our defensibility, so we explained our proprietary algorithm, which is really just a spreadsheet with some formulas.

Source: Venture capital terminology

Related Terms

Beginner

Pivot

A strategic change in business direction that's celebrated in Silicon Valley but called failure literally everywhere else. It's the entrepreneurial equivalent of missing your exit on the highway and announcing you meant to take the scenic route. Also: A graceful way of saying the original plan was a dumpster fire and now we're trying something completely different while pretending it was the plan all along. Silicon Valley's favorite dance move.

💼 Corporate / Business🚀 Startup / VC

Beginner

Market Size

The total addressable opportunity that you will inevitably overestimate by 300% in your investor deck.

🚀 Startup / VC

Intermediate

Rolling Closes

Taking investor money in tranches rather than waiting for a formal funding round close, a practice that sounds efficient but often indicates the fundraising process isn't actually complete.

🚀 Startup / VC

Beginner

entrepreneurs

Optimistic individuals who voluntarily choose unemployment with extra steps, convincing themselves that working 80 hours a week for no salary is better than working 40 hours for someone else. They're essentially professional risk-takers who transform caffeine and delusion into businesses, with a success rate that would make a Vegas gambler nervous. Society celebrates them when they succeed and conveniently forgets them when they fail.

🚀 Startup / VC

Intermediate

Strike Price

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.

🚀 Startup / VC

Beginner

MVP

Minimum Viable Product: the absolute least you can build before showing it to humans, which somehow always ends up being the final product. It's the software development equivalent of serving someone a raw potato and calling it a restaurant soft launch.

💻 Tech / IT🚀 Startup / VC

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