English

Noun

fume date ‎(plural fume dates)

1. (informal) The date on which a company (especially a start-up) runs out of money or is expected to run out of money.
   • 1999, Howard H. Stevenson, New Business Ventures and the Entrepreneur, Irwin/McGraw/Hill (1999), ISBN 9780256204773, page 168:

     Acknowledging that risk and discussing the window of foresight that will be available before problems become serious and even honestly discussing the "fume date" is often all the reassurance a prospective employee needs.

   • 2000, Courtney Barry, "10 Months, 10 Minutes, $10 Million", The New York Times, 7 June 2000:

     Was it a success? The WebTaggers guys say they will not know until the wire transfer date, Aug. 15, when WebTaggers anticipates that funds from investors will have traded hands.

     After that? Jan. 1, 2001, the "fume date," which no one really wants to think about -- the point at which, if no venture capital is coming in, the partners must admit defeat.

   • 2002, Paul A. Gompers & William Sahlman, Entrepreneurial Finance: A Casebook, Wiley (2002), ISBN 9780471080664, page 447:

     Without either the bridge loan or the next round of financing, Xedia would reach its fume date by the end of March 1998.