Analysis

August 5, 2026

Sweaty, insane, cracked: Decoding the language of founder praise

A field guide to the increasingly absurd language founders and investors use to praise one another


Founders' escalating vocabulary signals just how exceptional they supposedly are. (Image created using ChatGPT.)

Every industry develops its own jargon. Tech's happens to double as a social credit system.

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Éanna Kelly

Éanna Kelly is a contributing editor at Sifted, and writes Startup Life , a weekly newsletter on what it takes to build a startup. Follow him on X and LinkedIn

Martin Coulter

Martin Coulter is Sifted's news editor, based in London. You can follow him on LinkedIn and X

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