Definition
SaaS (Software as a Service)
The hosted subscription version of a product.
From the episode “This AI Automates Your Groceries, Workouts, and News for $5 a Month: Scheduled AI Workflows with WhatIff”Hear it on the podcast1 episode
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Related terms in Startups & Fundraising
Restricted stock vs optionsRestricted stock means the person owns the shares now. Options are the right to buy later at today's price.Revenue per employeeTotal revenue divided by headcount. The metric at the center of her investor comparison.Roll-upPrivate equity strategy of acquiring and consolidating many firms in one industry, currently happening across consulting.Run rateCurrent monthly revenue multiplied by 12.SaaS ApocalypseThe current wave of disruption hitting SaaS companies whose core functionality can now be replicated cheaply with AI tools. HubSpot cited as a high-profile example of a category incumbent under pressure.SaaSpocalypseThe idea that AI-built software will wipe out SaaS companies.SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity)Simple Agreement for Future Equity — a popular early-stage instrument that converts to shares in a later priced round.Second Mover AdvantageThe strategic benefit of entering a market after the pioneering wave has absorbed the high friction costs of category creation — clearing regulatory ambiguity, educating the market, and proving the core concept at a loss. Mitchell Jones invokes this concept to explain Lava's timing: the first movers in agentic infrastructure spent years proving that agents need programmatic service access. Lava enters with the category validated, the technical standards (MCP) established, and the merchant pain points (unmonetized API traffic) widely felt. The second mover captures the opportunity the pioneer created, without paying the pioneer tax.