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Entrepreneurship & Startups vocabulary · Ideas & Business Models

Disrupt

Meaning in entrepreneurship & startups, with examples

/dɪsˈrʌpt/verbCommon term

In entrepreneurship & startups, disrupt means: To change an industry completely with a new product or business model, often by serving customers more cheaply or simply, so that established companies lose their position.

In Turkish: sarsmak, kökten değiştirmek, altüst etmek

How it is used

Very common, and sometimes overused, in startup language: disrupt the banking industry, a disruptive technology, disruption. The idea comes from Clayton Christensen's theory of disruptive innovation. Many investors are tired of pitches that claim to disrupt everything.

Example sentences

  1. Digital banks are trying to disrupt traditional banking with lower fees and better apps.

  2. Don't say you will disrupt the industry; show what customers can do now that they couldn't do before.

Common collocations

  • disrupt an industry
  • disruptive innovation
  • disruptive technology
  • ripe for disruption
  • startupA young company that aims to grow very fast by solving a problem with a new product or business model, often before it has found a way to make a profit.
  • first-mover advantageThe benefit a company may get from being the first to enter a new market, such as brand recognition, early customers and control of key resources.
  • business modelThe way a company creates value for customers and earns money from it: who pays, what they pay for, how much and how often.
  • competitive advantageSomething that lets a company serve customers better or more cheaply than its rivals, such as unique technology, data, a strong brand or lower costs.

More terms: Ideas & Business Models

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