Default Alive
Whether a company would reach profitability on current revenue growth before running out of money.
A company is default alive if, on its current trajectory and without raising again, it reaches profitability before the cash runs out. Default dead is the opposite.
The distinction, popularised by Paul Graham, reframes fundraising. A default alive company raises from choice; a default dead one raises from necessity, and investors price the difference.
Founders frequently do not know which they are, because the answer requires modelling growth against burn rather than looking at either alone. It is worth calculating before starting a raise, not during one.