The Ask

Definition

The amount of money a startup is seeking in a funding round. The question that determines whether you're getting a term sheet or eating ramen while applying to jobs.

Example Usage

Our ask for Series B is $15M, which our lead investor described as 'aggressive' and our financial model described as 'absolutely necessary if we want to survive.'

Origin

Common business terminology for specifying a request or demand; adapted in VC to refer to capital raising requests.

Fun Fact

The ask is strategically important: too low and you don't raise enough to do anything; too high and you look delusional.

Source: Venture capital and fundraising terminology

Related Terms

Advanced

hurdle rate

The minimum return a VC fund must achieve before partners can collect carried interest—usually 8% annually. The bar LPs set to ensure their capital at least beats a boring index fund before the GP gets rich.

🚀 Startup / VC

Beginner

Stealth Mode

When a startup operates in secrecy to avoid competitors copying their idea, which assumes competitors would care about the idea in the first place. It's the startup equivalent of whispering at a party where nobody is listening.

🚀 Startup / VC

Intermediate

dilution

The soul-crushing moment when a startup issues new shares, and existing shareholders watch their ownership percentage shrink faster than a wool sweater in a hot dryer. While you still own the same number of shares, you now own a smaller slice of the pie—assuming the company actually grows enough to justify the dilution. It's the price founders pay for other people's money, and the reason early employees cry into their vested options.

🚀 Startup / VC

Advanced

shotgun clause

A buyout mechanism where one co-founder can offer to buy out another at a specific price, and the recipient must either sell at that price or buy the offerer's shares at the same price. The nuclear option for irreconcilable founder disputes.

🚀 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

Intermediate

pre-money valuation

What investors claim your company is worth before they invest—a number that's actually meaningless but gets thrown around in press releases. Add the investment amount to get post-money, which is what your ownership percentage is actually based on.

🚀 Startup / VC

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