Flywheel

Definition

A self-reinforcing business cycle where each component feeds the next, creating unstoppable momentum, at least on the whiteboard. In practice, most startup flywheels have the momentum of an actual flywheel purchased from a junkyard -- theoretically functional, practically stuck.

Example Usage

"Our flywheel creates a virtuous cycle where more users attract more content which attracts more users, assuming any of those users are real and not just our QA team."

Related Terms

Intermediate

biotechnology

The industry dedicated to using living organisms and biological systems to create products, solve problems, and generally play god in the most profitable way possible. It's where biology meets engineering meets venture capital, resulting in everything from life-saving drugs to designer yeast that makes better beer. Think of it as science's entrepreneurial phase, where petri dishes can lead to IPOs.

🚀 Startup / VC

Beginner

niche-down

The process of narrowing your target market to a smaller, more specific segment rather than trying to serve everyone. What pivoting looks like when you finally accept your TAM assumptions were delusional.

🚀 Startup / VC

Intermediate

capital efficiency

The art of building a valuable company while raising as little outside funding as possible, preserving founder ownership and bragging rights. It's increasingly rare in an era of mega-rounds and bloated valuations.

🚀 Startup / VC

Beginner

hockey stick growth

The mythical J-curve trajectory where metrics stay flat forever and then suddenly shoot straight up, resembling a hockey stick. Every founder claims this is coming; few actually achieve it.

🚀 Startup / VC

Beginner

founder dilution

The reduction in founders' ownership percentage that occurs each time the company raises money or issues new equity. It's the slow, inevitable erosion of ownership that founders signed up for when they took outside capital.

🚀 Startup / VC

Intermediate

Pre-Seed

The earliest stage of startup funding, which is a polite way of saying you're raising money based on nothing but a dream, a napkin sketch, and the audacity of a person who has never run a business. It's called pre-seed because the seed hasn't even been planted yet -- you're basically fundraising with dirt.

🚀 Startup / VC

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