Who This Helps
You're a growth marketer who crunches numbers but still gets stuck when presenting to stakeholders. You know your CAC payback and unit economics, but the room goes quiet when you say "runway." This is for you.
Mini Case
Meet Ben. He runs growth at a SaaS startup. Revenue is up 20% month over month, but cash is flat. He built a Runway Forecast Card using the Founder Finance Basics Mission Pack. His forecast showed 4.5 months of runway left. He presented it to the board with a clear ask: "Hire one more growth person now, or cut spend by 12% to extend runway by 7 days." They approved the hire in 3 minutes.
Do This Now (5 Steps)
- Pull your last 3 months of cash data. Don't guess. Use actual bank statements.
- Calculate your monthly burn rate. Subtract all expenses from revenue. Be honest about one-time costs.
- Build a simple runway forecast. Divide your cash balance by monthly burn. That's your runway in months.
- Add a stress test. What if revenue drops 20%? What if a big client churns? Run two scenarios.
- Write a one-page memo. State your runway number, the risk, and your recommended action. Keep it to 5 bullet points.
Avoid These Traps
- Using average revenue from last quarter. One bad month can skew it. Use trailing 3-month average.
- Forgetting payroll taxes. They add 8-10% to your burn. Include them.
- Presenting without a decision. Don't just show numbers. Say "We need to hire" or "We need to cut."
- Hiding bad news. Stakeholders respect honesty. A 4-month runway is fixable. A 2-month runway is a crisis.
- Overcomplicating the memo. No one reads a 10-page report. One page, clear ask.
Your Win by Friday
By Friday, you'll have a one-page Runway Forecast Card that your CEO can explain to the board. You'll know exactly how many months you have, what levers to pull, and which action to recommend. No more guesswork. No more awkward silences. Just a calm, data-backed decision that gets approved.