elephant hunting

Definition

A sales or fundraising strategy focused exclusively on landing enormous clients or investors rather than building up smaller ones. It's high-risk, high-reward betting where you either feast or starve.

Example Usage

The enterprise SaaS startup adopted an elephant hunting approach, targeting only Fortune 500 companies despite their 18-month sales cycles.

Origin

Borrowed from big-game hunting, popularized in enterprise sales literature

Fun Fact

Elephant hunting can backfire spectacularly when a single lost deal threatens company survival—hence why VCs often prefer 'rabbit hunting' strategies.

Source: Enterprise sales and fundraising strategy terminology

Related Terms

Intermediate

biotechnology

The industry dedicated to using living organisms and biological systems to create products, solve problems, and generally play god in the most profitable way possible. It's where biology meets engineering meets venture capital, resulting in everything from life-saving drugs to designer yeast that makes better beer. Think of it as science's entrepreneurial phase, where petri dishes can lead to IPOs.

🚀 Startup / VC

Beginner

board seat

A chair at the table where actual company decisions get made, typically negotiated by lead investors who want control over their millions. Where strategy is debated, CEOs are fired, and founders learn they don't actually run their company alone.

🚀 Startup / VC

Advanced

Blitzscaling

The strategy of growing a company at breakneck speed while intentionally ignoring efficiency, profitability, and the screams of your finance team. It's named after the German military tactic because both involve advancing recklessly and hoping the supply lines hold.

🚀 Startup / VC

Beginner

graybeard

An experienced entrepreneur or advisor, typically older, who's seen multiple technology cycles and startup failures. They provide wisdom, pattern recognition, and constant reminders that everything has been tried before.

🚀 Startup / VC

Beginner

niche-down

The process of narrowing your target market to a smaller, more specific segment rather than trying to serve everyone. What pivoting looks like when you finally accept your TAM assumptions were delusional.

🚀 Startup / VC

Beginner

investor

Someone who gives you money in exchange for a piece of your company, future profits, or the thrill of watching their capital evaporate. They're either your best friend or worst nightmare, depending on whether your quarterly numbers are trending upward. In startup land, they're the people whose calls you always take.

🚀 Startup / VC

Translate This Term

See “elephant hunting” in Corporate Speak, Gen-Z Slang, Pirate Speak, and more.

Try the Translator

Share This Term

Post on X Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn

Discover a Term

Beginner

yduwtk

why do you want to know...