Who This Helps
This is for growth marketers who need to get budget or headcount approved. The Founder Finance Basics Mission Pack helps you move from messy data to a single, defensible number that tells a story.
Mini Case
Ben’s revenue was up, but cash was flat. He was about to ask for more growth budget, but his data was a confusing mess. He built a simple runway forecast. In 90 minutes, he had a clear number: 5.2 months. He showed his board three scenarios: a best case (7 months), base case (5.2), and a stress case if a key channel underperformed (3.8 months). They approved his hiring plan on the spot. No more guesswork.
Do This Now (5 Steps)
- Grab your last three months of bank statements and revenue reports.
- Calculate your average monthly net burn. (Total cash spent minus cash in).
- Divide your current cash balance by that monthly burn number. That’s your core runway.
- Now, model one positive change (e.g., a 15% conversion lift from your new campaign) and one risk (e.g., a 20% increase in CAC from platform changes). See how your runway stretches or shrinks.
- Package it. Your headline is your base-case runway number. Your backup is the two scenarios. That’s your story.
Avoid These Traps
- Don’t hide the ugly stuff. If a channel’s payback is slipping, flag it in your scenario.
- Don’t use 27 different tabs. One page. One core metric. Stakeholders are busy.
- Never present a single, static number. The world isn’t static. Show you’ve thought about what could change.
- Don’t jump to asking for money before you can explain where your last dollar went.
- Avoid jargon like “burn multiple” without a one-sentence plain English translation.
- Don’t forget to connect runway to action. Is the goal to extend it by 2 months or to spend it to hit a milestone?
- Never assume everyone remembers the assumptions from last month. Restate them simply every time.
- Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. A simple, slightly wrong model you can explain is better than a perfect one you can’t.
Your Win by Friday
You’ll walk into your next planning sync with one clear page. At the top: “Our runway is X months.” Below: the two scenarios that show you’re in control. You’ll get a “Yes” to your next experiment or hire, because you’ve turned analysis into an approved execution plan. Finance folks love this. It’s like giving them a warm cookie.