The Tech-Debt Explainer

Help me understand and make the case around technical debt.

The situation: [WHAT THE TECH TEAM IS SAYING ABOUT DEBT / SLOWDOWN]
The business pressure: [SHIP FEATURES VS FIX FOUNDATIONS]

Provide:
1. What technical debt actually means, in business terms
2. How it slows delivery and raises risk over time (the "interest")
3. How to weigh paying it down vs shipping new features
4. How to tell healthy trade-offs from dangerous neglect
5. How to talk about it with the tech team and set a sensible balance

Translate the engineering concern into a business risk/return decision I
can actually make.