Who This Helps
You're a Product Manager who hates stale spreadsheets. You need a runway number you can explain and act on. The Founder Finance Basics Mission Pack is built for you.
Mini Case
Ben's revenue jumped 12% last quarter. But cash stayed flat. He spent 7 days each month updating his runway forecast. That's 7 days he could have spent on product strategy. He needed a one-page unit economics truth, fast.
Do This Now (5 Steps)
- Grab your latest cash balance. Pull it from your bank or accounting tool. No guessing.
- List your monthly burn. Include everything: salaries, cloud costs, marketing spend. Be honest.
- Calculate your runway. Divide cash by monthly burn. That's your number. Example: $300k / $50k = 6 months.
- Set a 3-month alert. If runway drops below 3 months, trigger a review. No exceptions.
- Use AI to auto-update. Connect your data source once. Let AI refresh the forecast weekly. You get a fresh number without touching a cell.
Avoid These Traps
- Using last month's burn for next month. Burn changes. Update it.
- Ignoring one-time costs. A big hire or server upgrade can eat 2 months of runway.
- Forgetting revenue timing. Cash in hand matters, not booked revenue.
- Manual updates only. You'll skip them. Then your forecast is wrong.
- No scenario planning. What if revenue drops 20%? Run that number too.
Your Win by Friday
By Friday, you'll have a runway forecast card that updates itself. You'll know exactly how many months you have. And you'll stop wasting 7 days on manual reports. That's a win you can explain to your CEO in 30 seconds.