Insights and updates

From emerging regulation to deal mechanics, we write about the questions founders and investors actually ask — practical analysis you can put to work.

Vaporware

Vaporware is software, hardware, or technology that has been publicly announced — often with extensive marketing — but is never actually released, or releases years after promised.

Series B

Series B is the second institutional priced equity round following Series A, typically focused on scaling a business that has already demonstrated product-market fit, repeatable customer acquisition, and sustainable unit economics.

Freemium

Freemium is a pricing model combining “free” and “premium” — a permanently free tier with limits, paired with one or more paid tiers that unlock advanced features, higher usage, or team capabilities.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the practice of optimizing a website’s structure, content, and authority signals to rank higher in organic (unpaid) search engine results — primarily Google, Bing, and increasingly LLM-based search (Perplexity, ChatGPT, Claude).

Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR)

Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) is the predictable subscription revenue a SaaS business expects to earn each month. It excludes one-time fees, professional services, and variable usage. MRR is the foundational metric for tracking SaaS growth velocity at a fine-grained pace.

Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)

ARR is the annualised run-rate of recurring subscription revenue — MRR × 12 or summed contract values, excluding one-time fees. How to calculate it correctly and why diligence teams rebuild it from invoices.

Travel Rule (Crypto)

The Travel Rule is a financial regulation requiring originator and beneficiary information to “travel” with a transfer above a defined threshold.

Initial DEX Offering (IDO)

An Initial DEX Offering (IDO) is a token launch mechanism that uses decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and launchpad platforms to distribute new tokens directly to the public without intermediation by a centralized exchange.

Liquidity Pool

A liquidity pool is a smart contract holding reserves of two or more tokens to enable decentralized trading. Liquidity pools are the foundation of Automated Market Makers (AMMs) like Uniswap, Curve, and Balancer — they replace traditional order books with algorithmic price discovery.

Tokenization

Tokenization is the process of converting rights to an asset — physical, financial, or digital — into a digital token recorded on a blockchain. The token serves as a transferable, programmable proof of ownership or claim.