Runway (business)
Etymology
From the literal aircraft runway — the strip a plane needs before it can lift off. Startup culture borrowed it for the distance you can travel before you must "take off" (become profitable or raise more) or crash. The aviation image makes the stakes vivid: run out of runway and you don’t fly.
noun · /RUN-way/
How long a company can keep operating on its current cash before it runs out of money.
What it names
It turns a bank balance into a countdown of months, forcing a startup to see time, not just money, as the scarce resource.
Example
With six months of runway left, they cut costs hard and started raising the next round.
Related idea
Runway is how much time your cash buys; burn rate is how fast you spend it. Runway is simply your cash divided by your burn rate — halve the burn and you double the runway.
noun · /RUN-way/
The long paved strip on which aircraft take off and land.
What it names
the airport surface.
Example
The plane taxied onto the runway.
Related idea
The literal sense the startup jargon stretches — how much “runway” you have before liftoff.
noun · /RUN-way/
The long raised platform on which models walk in a fashion show.
What it names
the catwalk.
Example
The new collection debuted on the runway in Milan.
Related idea
A path built for a straight walk down and back.