Ramen Profitability

Definition

When a startup's revenue covers basic operating expenses (ramen-level salaries), allowing it to survive without external funding.

Example Usage

We achieved ramen profitability last month—our co-founders are making $1,200/month each and honestly, the ramen is getting old.

Origin

Coined by Paul Graham to describe minimal profitability in startup culture

Fun Fact

Ramen profitability is typically $40K/month revenue, which is obviously dependent on location

Source: Startup financial terminology

Related Terms

Beginner

Elevator Pitch

A 30-second summary of your startup that you deliver to investors in elevators, coffee lines, and restraining-order-adjacent proximity. If you can't explain your company in the time it takes to ride an elevator, your company is either too complicated or the elevator is too fast.

🚀 Startup / VC

Intermediate

tender offer

When a company or investor offers to buy shares from existing shareholders at a set price, providing liquidity without a full exit. A release valve for the equity pressure cooker.

🚀 Startup / VC

Intermediate

Stock Options

The right to buy company shares at a set price in the future, given to employees as compensation for the salary they're not getting. They're worth millions on paper and nothing in reality, making them the participation trophies of startup compensation.

🚀 Startup / VC

Intermediate

tiger global-ing

Making investment decisions at lightning speed with minimal diligence, named after Tiger Global's spray-and-pray approach during the 2020-2021 bubble. High velocity, low conviction, maximum FOMO.

🚀 Startup / VC

Intermediate

diluted

The soul-crushing moment when a founder's ownership percentage shrinks because the company issued more shares to new investors. It's weaker coffee, but for equity—you still own shares, they're just worth relatively less of the pie. Every funding round brings this special joy, where you simultaneously celebrate getting money and mourn losing control.

🚀 Startup / VC

Advanced

cram down round

A financing round where new investors impose harsh terms on existing shareholders who lack the votes to block it. It's democracy in action, if democracy meant 'whoever has the most money wins.'

🚀 Startup / VC

Translate This Term

See “Ramen Profitability” 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

Advanced

carnegie unit

A measure of instructional time equating one credit hour to 120 hours of student work, standardizing education through t...