entreprecariat

Definition

A delightfully depressing portmanteau describing the growing army of hustlers who call themselves entrepreneurs but are really just unemployed people with a business card and a prayer. These brave souls combine the precarious instability of gig work with the delusion of startup success, making "founder" sound way better than "between opportunities." Welcome to late-stage capitalism's participation trophy.

Example Usage

After my layoff, I joined the entreprecariat by launching a dropshipping store and calling myself a CEO on LinkedIn.

Source: Urban Dictionary (https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=entreprecariat&defid=11986246)

Related Terms

Advanced

no-shop clause

A provision preventing startups from soliciting other offers while negotiating terms, ensuring you can't play investors against each other. The dating equivalent of 'we're exclusive now' after one coffee.

🚀 Startup / VC

Beginner

seed

The first real money a startup receives from external investors, typically ranging from $500K to $2M, given in exchange for equity to entrepreneurs brave (or delusional) enough to think their idea will change the world. This is the stage where your pitch deck matters more than your product, and your co-founder's LinkedIn connections matter more than your revenue. Named 'seed' because most of these investments will never grow into anything, much like actual seeds.

🚀 Startup / VC

Intermediate

pay-back period

The time required for an investment fund to return its original capital to LPs through exits and distributions. It's the VC equivalent of asking 'when do I get my money back?'

🚀 Startup / VC

Intermediate

nail it then scale it

The strategy of perfecting product-market fit and unit economics in one market before expanding broadly. It's the anti-blitzscaling approach that prioritizes learning over land grabbing.

🚀 Startup / VC

Advanced

409A valuation

An IRS-mandated appraisal of your company's common stock price, required so employees don't accidentally commit tax fraud when exercising options. It's always mysteriously lower than what you tell investors your company is worth.

🚀 Startup / VC

Beginner

CAC

Customer Acquisition Cost—how much you spend in sales and marketing to land one customer. VCs compare this to lifetime value to determine if your business model is actually viable or just an expensive hobby.

🚀 Startup / VC

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