PART 1 Expressions
1. High-profile private companies such as Miadore.com have gone out of business because VCs are afraid to fund B2C(business-to-consumers) companies now.
high-profile: attracting a lot of public attention, usually deliberately 备受瞩目的
a high-profile public figure
high profile: sth that is high profile is noticed by many people or gets a lot of attention
The star has a high profile in Britain.
OPP: low-profile
keep a low profile: to behave quietly and avoid doing things that will make people notice you
2. We knew that just harping on the urgency of the situation wasn't going to be enough.
harp: （n.）竖琴
harp on sth/ harp on about sth: (v.) informal, to talk about sth continuously, especially in a way that is annoying or boring
My grandfather harps on about the at all the time.
3. We racked our brains trying to come up with more creative solutions.
rack: (v) to make sb suffer great mental or physical pain 使痛苦
Her face was racked with pain.
Liza was racked by guilt.
rack one's brains: to try very hard to remember or think of sth
I racked my brains, trying to remember his name.
4. We lived by an "all-for-one, one-for-all" credo and did everything we could to keep the company afloat.
keep sb/ sth (stay) afloat: having enough money to operate or stay out of debt
The Treasury borrowed $40 billion, just to stay afloat.
5. We ended up figuring things out in the end, but it put a bit of a damper on our trip.
damper: (n.) 减震器；（钢琴的）制音器--a piece of equipment that stops a piano string from making a sound
put a damper on sth: to make sth less enjoyable, active, or great than it could have been
A couple of knee injuries put a damper on his football career.
6. I knew that back at home, it felt like vultures were circling around Zappos.
vulture: 1. 秃鹰（以食动物的尸体为生）； 2. someone who uses other people's problems and suffering for their own advantage, used to show disapproval
He hadn't been dead five minutes before those vultures from the media were after his widow.
7. I thought I had heard an animal making a strange noise outside, but it turned out to be just a figment of my imagination.
a figment of sb's imagination: sth that you imagine is real, but does not exist 臆造的事物
The attack wasn't just a figment of my imagination.
8. It was hard not to feel wistful and nostalgic.
wistful: thinking sadly about sth you would like to have but cannot have, especially sth you used to have in the past 怀想的，不舍的
a wistful smile
"That's the house where I was born," she said wistfully.
9. The growth was exciting, but we also knew we were walking a tightrope.
tightrope: 高空钢丝
walk a tightrope: to be in a difficult situation in which sth bad could happen if you make a mistake
I feel as though I'm walking a tightrope between success and failure.
PART 2 Business Terms
1. gross profit: 毛利 (=营业收入-营业成本)
vs. net profit: 净利润（=营业收入-营业成本-管理费-所得税-...）
total gross profit; average gross profit
2. proceeds 收益 [ˈprəʊsi:dz] SYN profits
3. brick-and-mortar stores 实体店
4. My plan was to take almost everything that I had left in my name and liquidate it in a fire sale.
a fire sale：来源: 货物因活在被轻微损害而低价出售，代指甩卖 selling goods or assets at heavily discounted price. For example, a broad fire sale of stocks usually occur during times of financial crisis.
PART 3 Sentences
1. The need to survive and figure things out had an unanticipated consequence. It brought all of us closer together because we all shared the same goal of not going out of business. Even though we were going through some tough times, we were going through everything together, and we were all fiercely passionate about what we were doing. We had all made sacrifices in our own way because we all believed in the potential and future of the company.
2. Never outsource your core competence.