the.com/foothold

means A small secure grip or position—literal or figurative—that gives you enough stability to hold on or start advancing.

from A straightforward English compound from 'foot' + 'hold,' first used literally for a ledge or notch solid enough to support a climber's foot. By the 1800s it had already stretched into the figurative sense we use most now — a tenuous first grip on a market, a career, or an argument, the toehold before the full ascent.