burn rate
Burn rate is the speed at which a company consumes its cash like a countdown timer. Hailed by investors as proof of efficiency, it serves as a tickets-to-hell indicator for founders. The higher it climbs, the hotter executive meetings become, and the closer the company edges toward theatrical self-destruction. It turns balance sheets into horror movie scripts, where every tick sounds the alarm for survival. Ultimately, every venture meets its burn-out moment.