avant

Definition

The vanguard or front line of a movement, army, or trend—basically the people doing cutting-edge stuff before everyone else catches on. Think of them as the cool kids who are three seasons ahead and won't shut up about it.

Example Usage

The tech startup positioned itself as part of the avant of the AI revolution.

Source: Merriam-Webster via Free Dictionary API

Related Terms

Intermediate

diluting

The act of reducing ownership percentage by issuing new shares, or what happens to founders' equity every time VCs open their checkbooks. In chemistry, it means adding solvent to weaken a solution; in startup world, it means your 50% stake just became 30% and you're supposed to smile because the company is now "worth more." The most expensive way to raise money without technically losing money.

🚀 Startup / VC

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

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pattern matching

When VCs make investment decisions based on superficial similarities to previous successful startups rather than rigorous analysis. It's why they love Stanford dropouts building social apps in their dorm rooms.

🚀 Startup / VC

Beginner

pay-it-forward mentality

The cultural expectation in startup ecosystems that successful entrepreneurs and investors should help newcomers, supposedly creating a virtuous cycle. In practice, it's often networking disguised as altruism.

🚀 Startup / VC

Advanced

burn multiple

A capital efficiency metric calculated as net burn divided by net new ARR, measuring how many dollars a company incincinerates to generate each dollar of recurring revenue. A burn multiple under 1.5x suggests efficiency; above 3x suggests a bonfire of investor capital.

🚀 Startup / VC

Advanced

Mark Cuban Problem

When a startup's growth is impressive but unit economics are terrible, making it simultaneously successful and fundamentally broken—named after investor Mark Cuban's famous critiques.

🚀 Startup / VC

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