entrepreneurship

Definition

The romanticized art of starting businesses, taking risks, and pretending to enjoy working 80-hour weeks for the slim chance of eventual success. It's capitalism's version of the hero's journey, complete with failure, redemption arcs, and way too many LinkedIn posts about "grinding." Business schools teach it, VCs fund it, and most people quit it within three years.

Example Usage

After reading one book about entrepreneurship, Jake quit his job to launch a startup and discovered that motivation doesn't pay rent.

Source: Common business terminology

Related Terms

Beginner

lead investor

The VC firm that sets the terms and does the heavy lifting in a funding round, while other investors gratefully follow along. Someone has to negotiate while everyone else free-rides.

🚀 Startup / VC

Intermediate

cockroach startup

A resilient company that survives on minimal resources and refuses to die despite market conditions that would kill competitors. They're scrappy, resourceful, and nearly impossible to eliminate.

🚀 Startup / VC

Advanced

shadow equity

Informal promises of future equity that aren't documented in legal agreements, often made to early advisors or contributors. A lawsuit waiting to happen, wrapped in a handshake.

🚀 Startup / VC

Intermediate

voting rights

The power to vote on corporate matters, typically held by common stock and sometimes special classes of preferred stock. Theoretically democratic, practically controlled by whoever wrote the term sheet.

🚀 Startup / VC

Advanced

distribution waterfall

The specific order in which investment proceeds are distributed among LPs and GPs based on the fund's legal agreements. It's the pecking order that determines who eats first at the exit feast.

🚀 Startup / VC

Beginner

passion tax

The lower compensation that employees accept to work at mission-driven startups or in attractive industries like gaming or entertainment. Employers exploit your dreams to underpay you.

🚀 Startup / VC

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