Talk Like a VC Insider With This Gif Glossary
Do you speak VC? You know you want to. Here’s a sample list of lingo that’s good to know, courtesy of David S. Rose, managing partner of Rose Tech Ventures and the chief executive officer of Gust.com, the largest global platform for early stage investors.
1. The Golden Rule:
2. Cram Down:
3. Dry powder:
What you think it means: What Rick James said.
What it really means: Money held in reserve by a VC or angel in order to be able make additional investments in a company.
4. Pay to play:
What you think it means: A sure-fire way to get your 4-year old off the Little League bench.
What it really means: Requiring investors to participate in future down-valuation financings of the company or face consequences (such as getting their preferred stock converted into common stock).
Related: Looking for Funding? Consider These 3 Must-Know Tips for Startups
5. Runway:
What you think it means: A six-inch heel’s natural habitat.
What it really means:How long a startup can survive before it goes broke, the amount of cash in the bank divided by a pre-profitable startup’s negative cash flow.
6. Valley of Death:
7. Drip Feed:
What you think it means: The only way to consume all espresso.
What it really means: When investors fund a startup a little bit at a time instead of in a lump sum. This process can be nerve wracking for entrepreneurs and painful for the investors.
Related: VC 100: The Top Investors in Early-Stage Startups
8. Walking Dead:
9. Dead Pool:
10. Tag Along:
What you think it means: A delicious Girl Scout cookie. The one with the peanut butter. What it really means:11. Waterfall:
What you think it means: What it really means:12. Lock Up:
13. Zombie Fund:
14. Vulture Capitalist:
15. “You can’t push a string”:
16. “Be a bull or a bear…but don’t be a pig”:
What you think it means: Nothing. You made that up.
What it really means:Be optimistic and invest, or skeptical and pass, but don’t be greedy and push for ridiculous terms
Do you speak VC? You know you want to. Here’s a sample list of lingo that’s good to know, courtesy of David S. Rose, managing partner of Rose Tech Ventures and the chief executive officer of Gust.com, the largest global platform for early stage investors.
1. The Golden Rule:
2. Cram Down:
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