Startups & investors in Chinese 创业融资
chuàngyè róngzī
Start a business in Chinese is 创业 (chuàng yè).
Also searched for as: startup, start a business, investors, venture capital, fundraising, entrepreneur.
From a bold idea to raising your first round. 15 essential startups & investors words in Mandarin Chinese, with pinyin and English. Open it in the app to hear each word, tick off the ones you know and turn them into flashcards.
To start a business in Chinese is 创业 (chuàng yè), and the startup world has its own lively vocabulary. Founders talk about 融资 (róng zī), raising money, in stages from the 天使轮 (tiān shǐ lún), angel round, through Series A and beyond, all while trying not to 烧钱 (shāo qián), burn through cash too quickly. These words will help you follow pitch events and founder conversations.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 创业 | chuàng yè | to start a business |
| 初创公司 | chū chuàng gōng sī | startup company |
| 创始人 | chuàng shǐ rén | founder |
| 合伙人 | hé huǒ rén | partner; co-founder |
| 融资 | róng zī | to raise funds; financing |
| 投资人 | tóu zī rén | investor |
| 天使轮 | tiān shǐ lún | angel round |
| A轮 | A lún | Series A |
| 估值 | gū zhí | valuation |
| 股份 | gǔ fèn | shares; equity |
| 商业计划书 | shāng yè jì huà shū | business plan; pitch deck |
| 路演 | lù yǎn | pitch event; roadshow |
| 风投 | fēng tóu | venture capital; VC |
| 烧钱 | shāo qián | to burn money |
| 上市 | shàng shì | to go public; IPO |
Usage tips
- Funding rounds are named with 轮 (lún), 'round': 天使轮, then A轮, B轮 and so on, read with the English letter, as in A轮 (A lún).
- 创业 (chuàng yè) covers any kind of setting up on your own, from a tech company to a small café, so 他出来创业了 (tā chū lái chuàng yè le) doesn't necessarily mean a tech startup.
- 合伙人 (hé huǒ rén) is used both for co-founders and for partners in law or investment firms, so context tells you which is meant.
Common mistakes
- Mixing up 投资 (tóu zī), to invest, with 融资 (róng zī), to raise funds: investors 投资, while startups 融资.
- Saying 开始一个公司 for 'start a company'; say 开公司 (kāi gōng sī) or, more formally, 创办公司 (chuàng bàn gōng sī).
- Taking 上市 (shàng shì) as only 'go on sale': for a company it means listing on the stock market, while 新品上市 (xīn pǐn shàng shì) is a product launch.
Mini dialogue
- A听说你辞职出来创业了？Tīng shuō nǐ cí zhí chū lái chuàng yè le?I heard you quit your job to start your own business?
- B对，我跟一个朋友一起做，他是技术合伙人。Duì, wǒ gēn yī ge péng you yī qǐ zuò, tā shì jì shù hé huǒ rén.Yes, I'm doing it with a friend who's my technical co-founder.
- A那你们融资了吗？Nà nǐ men róng zī le ma?Have you raised any money?
- B刚拿到天使轮，下个月还要见几个投资人。Gāng ná dào tiān shǐ lún, xià ge yuè hái yào jiàn jǐ ge tóu zī rén.We've just closed our angel round, and I'm meeting a few investors next month.
- A加油！不过别太烧钱了。Jiā yóu! Bù guò bié tài shāo qián le.Go for it! Just don't burn through the cash too fast.
Example sentences
- 他辞职出来创业了。He quit his job to start his own business.
- 我在一家初创公司上班。I work at a startup.
- 她是这家公司的创始人。She's the founder of this company.
- 我在找一个技术合伙人。I'm looking for a technical co-founder.
- 我们正在融资。We're raising money at the moment.
- 下周要见几个投资人。I'm meeting a few investors next week.
- 我们拿到了天使轮投资。We've closed our angel round.
- 公司刚完成A轮融资。The company has just closed its Series A.
- 公司估值已经过亿了。The company is now valued at over 100 million.
- 投资人要占百分之二十的股份。The investors want a 20% stake.
- 商业计划书写好了吗？Is the business plan ready?
- 明天下午有一场路演。There's a pitch event tomorrow afternoon.
- 很多风投都看好这个行业。Lots of VCs are bullish on this sector.
- 这个项目太烧钱了。This project burns through cash.
- 我们的目标是五年内上市。Our goal is to go public within five years.
Practise speaking
Ready to use these words? The Startups & investors speaking island has 8 everyday questions about startups & investors to prepare your own answers to.