Herd Mentality
When people follow the leader or others like a herd instead of thinking independently. Often seen when investors are deciding which startups to fund.
VC: You guys have a really strong team, exactly the type that we like to fund, but we just don't believe in the idea.
Kim: Did I mention that a16z decided to invest in us yesterday.
VC: Wait. Don't leave. I think we started things off on the wrong foot.
zazpowered over 9 years ago
Gamification
Adding game elements to normally not game related software or processes in order to increase engagement.
A: User testing has shown that users don't like our accounting app.
B: We should really be adding some gamification.
A: Will that make the app more useful?
B: No, but more fun!
graup over 9 years agoTo the moon
A phrase often used by those in the cryptocurrency community. Usually used when the value of currency goes up high very rapidly.
Bitcoin Jackson: WOW! One bitcoin is now worth $900! And it's only gonna go up! Up to the right and to the moon!! A month later.... Bitcoin John: Hey Jackson, so I heard that you made a ton of money from bitcoins. Did you invest at its peak?
Bitcoin Jackson: yeah.... about that... I don't want to talk about it.
svhunt over 9 years agoSME
An acronym for "Subject Matter Expert". Generally a person designated as the expert in a particular technology, process, or subject area within a company or organization. Often the title is an oxymoron and is given through a bureaucratic process where the person designated as the so called "expert" knows less about the subject than others yet insists on inserting themselves into the decision making process despite their inferior knowledge. They derive their power via their title rather than any actual factual information they may know.
The IT department can't install Chrome because the Browser SME declared that no more than 2 browsers will be supported and he choose IE and Firefox. He didn't provide any factual basis for his decision when it was announced but he did note that he was the browser SME and thus everyone had to abide by his decision.
ipfreely over 9 years agoUber of...
Commonly used by startup founders to compare their mediocre startup or idea to the startup unicorn Uber.
Startup Founder: We're the Uber of food delivery.
VC: Uhhh... so is everyone else.
ssc242 over 9 years agoYep, seamless, delivery,com, munchery, caviar...the list never ends
You should additionally add "Facebook of..." probably the most heard phrase since 2010 ;D
Engineer Unicorn
An engineer that is competent, good looking, dresses well and is not socially awkward.
John: How come no other engineers are like David?
Mary: He's an engineer unicorn. They are rare.
pygmyknight over 9 years agoThe legend says some of them can be found here http://www.engineerunicorns.com
"Unicorn" is a common term for an engineer (usually front-end) who also has good taste in design and is able to contribute to UX early on. But "unicorn" is also used for startups that turn out to be breakout successes, like Uber and Airbnb. Silicon Valley really likes unicorns.
Startup Social Worth
When your Silicon Valley social worth is based on which startups you have founded or work at.
Sidecar Employee at bar: There are so many Uber employees here. I have no chance with these women
zazpowered over 9 years agoCloud
A descriptive word given to something that is running on someone else's computer.
We will run our product in the cloud, so it is accessible to users on the internet.
slushieman over 9 years agoSME
Subject Matter Expert.
Steve is the SME for the Matlab project. Talk to him for guidance on that.
slushieman over 9 years agoStack
Refers to the variety of technologies used to build and maintain your website, app, or service. Might also refer to a large amount of pancakes.
Son: Hey pops, wanna throw another stack on my plate? Pass the syrup too.
Pops: No son, your stack needs to maintainable, don't let your code base get out of control!
zander over 9 years agoSnack Dick
Like a regular dick but smaller and tucked behind the ear. Used by Dinesh on Silicon Valley to describe Pied Piper's logo
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zazpowered over 9 years agoHockey Stick Growth
A way to describe the type of fast growth that VC likes which is up and to the right like a hockey stick. When pitched by founders, it is often accompanied by a y axis that isn't labeled or a growth percentage that doesn't include initial value.
Matthew: We experienced 1200% user growth in the past week. Our growth is as hockey stick as it gets.
Sam: How many users did you start off with.
Matthew: You know... I didn't need to take this meeting. VCs are lining up to fund me
zazpowered over 9 years agoCrushing it
Achieving exceptional success with something.
Jess is totally crushing it with her new Uber-for-VC-funding app. She's already been hunted.
Travis over 9 years agoFounders use this term until "Awesome Journey."
Uber-fied
Your service has been made so simple to use, it works with 1 click of a button, like http://uber.com
Person 1: Dude! If we uber-fied raising funding from VC's we'd be gods!
Person 2: ...opens XCode
Travis over 9 years agoHunted
Your product or service has been featured on http://ProductHunt.com
Person 1: Dude! This app is sick. Did you get hunted yet?
Person 2: No. What's that?
Person 1: Never mind...
Travis over 9 years ago10x Engineer
A concept sometimes used in Silicon Valley to describe an engineer that is 10x more productive than an average engineer although the 10x metric is figurative. Sometimes referred to as "Ninjas", these engineers are highly sought after by all tech companies.
Jim: You gave me 100 resumes but none of these guys are 10x engineers. Why hire a few of these guys to slow us down when a 10x engineer is so much more productive?
zazpowered over 9 years agoThey can be found here: http://10x.engineer
Negging
To undermine the confidence of somebody to gain advantage in a situation. On Silicon Valley, VC firms neg Richard to bring down the valuation of Pied Piper but Erlich counters by "negging the neg" to create funding demand for their startup.
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zazpowered over 9 years ago
Reminds me of Never Lead VC http://www.topchart.io/lists/worst-vc-group-names#!items/53632-never-lead-vc