Who This Helps
You’re a founder operator. Revenue is growing, but cash feels tight. You need a clear number to share with your team and investors—without spending hours in spreadsheets.
The Founder Finance Basics Mission Pack is built for this moment. One mission inside it, the Runway Forecast, gives you a repeatable method to know your cash position in 10 minutes.
Mini Case
Meet Ben. His SaaS company grew revenue 20% last quarter. But his bank balance barely moved. He was confused—until he ran a runway forecast.
Ben had $120k in the bank. Monthly burn was $40k. He calculated: 120 / 40 = 3 months of runway. Then he added a 15% buffer for unexpected costs. His real runway: 2.6 months. That changed his hiring plans immediately.
Do This Now (5 Steps)
- Pull your last 3 bank statements. Add up all cash outflows. Don’t forget payroll, software subscriptions, and contractor payments.
- Calculate your monthly burn. Total expenses divided by 3. Example: $120k total / 3 = $40k per month.
- Check your cash balance. Use today’s number, not last month’s. Ben used $120k.
- Divide cash by burn. $120k / $40k = 3 months. That’s your raw runway.
- Add a safety buffer. Multiply raw runway by 0.85 to get a conservative number. 3 x 0.85 = 2.55 months. Now you have a number you can explain.
Avoid These Traps
- Forgetting one-time costs. A big annual software renewal can wreck your forecast. Include it.
- Using average revenue as cash. Revenue isn’t cash until it hits your bank. Use actual bank balance.
- Ignoring payroll taxes. They’re real and they add up. Check your last payroll run.
- Being too optimistic. Hope is not a forecast. Use the conservative number for decisions.
- Not updating monthly. Runway changes fast. Re-run this every 30 days.
- Sharing raw numbers without context. Always explain the buffer. Stakeholders trust a cautious founder.
Your Win by Friday
By Friday, you’ll have a one-page runway forecast you can share with your co-founder, board, or investors. No more guessing. No more awkward pauses when someone asks, “How much cash do we have?”
You’ll make faster hiring decisions, know when to cut costs, and sleep better. That’s the calm confidence of a founder who runs the numbers.
And honestly? It feels pretty good to say, “We have 2.6 months of runway, and here’s our plan.”