White Whale

Definition

That one customer a startup obsesses over landing, usually a Fortune 500 company that would validate everything and solve cash flow problems forever.

Example Usage

We've spent 8 months pursuing Microsoft as our white whale, and they still haven't returned a single email.

Origin

Literary reference to 'Moby Dick'; popularized in startup culture via sales terminology

Fun Fact

Most startup white whales take 1-2 years to close, if they ever close at all, making it the corporate equivalent of waiting for Godot

Source: Sales and business development jargon

Related Terms

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vulture capital

Investors who prey on distressed startups, offering unfavorable terms when founders are desperate. They prefer the smell of burning runway in the morning.

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down dilution

The reduction in ownership percentage when additional shares are issued, especially painful in a down round where new shares are issued at a lower price. Watching your equity stake shrink while your company's value simultaneously decreases.

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drag-along

Rights allowing majority shareholders to force minority shareholders to join in selling the company. Corporate democracy's escape hatch, where your vote doesn't matter if enough people with more shares decide differently.

🚀 Startup / VC

Intermediate

Acqhire

An acquisition primarily designed to hire the team rather than use the product—basically human trafficking with a legal framework.

🚀 Startup / VC

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qualifying transaction

A financing or exit event that triggers specific contractual provisions in a term sheet, such as conversion of convertible notes or acceleration of vesting. The legal trip-wire that determines when various startup agreements activate.

🚀 Startup / VC

Beginner

FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)

The panic investors feel when they suspect they're about to miss a hot deal or investment opportunity. The invisible hand that closes funding rounds at 11:59 PM on Friday.

🚀 Startup / VC

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