nurture

Definition

In startup circles, the delicate art of hand-holding your leads, customers, or portfolio companies through their developmental journey with strategic attention and resources—because apparently letting things grow naturally is for gardeners, not venture capitalists.

Example Usage

We need to nurture these early-stage founders with mentorship and capital to turn them into unicorns.

Source: Common startup/VC terminology

Related Terms

Intermediate

churning

The unethical practice where brokers excessively trade in a client's account primarily to generate commissions rather than profits, essentially treating your portfolio like a butter-making operation. In SaaS, it refers to the rate at which customers cancel their subscriptions, making it the metric that haunts every startup founder's dreams. Either way, it's excessive activity that benefits someone other than you.

🚀 Startup / VC

Beginner

hot deal

A startup fundraising round with overwhelming investor demand, usually led by a top-tier firm with multiple others fighting for allocation. The velvet rope nightclub of venture capital.

🚀 Startup / VC

Intermediate

Founders Fund

A venture capital firm explicitly run by founders (like Peter Thiel's firm) with the theory that people who've built companies make better investors; the evidence is mixed.

🚀 Startup / VC

Advanced

trough of sorrow

The extended period after initial startup excitement fades when growth stalls and reality sets in, but you're too committed to quit. It's the emotional valley between 'we're going to change the world' and 'maybe we should get real jobs.'

🚀 Startup / VC

Intermediate

chasm

In startup land, the terrifying gap between early adopters who'll buy anything shiny and the mainstream market that actually expects your product to work. Coined by Geoffrey Moore, this metaphorical canyon is where many promising startups go to die, usually because they assumed soccer moms would be as forgiving as tech bros. It's the entrepreneurial equivalent of realizing your mom's friends won't think your jokes are as funny as your college roommates did.

🚀 Startup / VC

Intermediate

Flat Series Round

A funding round where the valuation is identical to (or extremely close to) the previous round's valuation, which founders desperately pretend is actually good news.

🚀 Startup / VC

Translate This Term

See “nurture” 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

Intermediate

Pittsburgh rare

A steak seared hard on the outside until charred but left practically raw inside. Legend says Pittsburgh steelworkers wo...