Financial Forecasting
Financial Forecasting for Fundraising Readiness
This prompt helps finance teams prepare a financial forecast tailored for fundraising purposes. It focuses on projecting key metrics, such as revenue growth, cash flow, and runway, to present a compelling case to investors.
Responsible:
Finance
Accountable, Informed or Consulted:
Finance, Leadership
THE PREP
Creating effective prompts involves tailoring them with detailed, relevant information and uploading documents that provide the best context. Prompts act as a framework to guide the response, but specificity and customization ensure the most accurate and helpful results. Use these prep tips to get the most out of this prompt:
Gather historical financial data, including revenue, expenses, and cash flow.
Define the fundraising goal and its intended use, such as scaling or R&D investment.
Research investor expectations in terms of key metrics and industry benchmarks.
THE PROMPT
Help create a financial forecast for [specific software startup] to prepare for an upcoming fundraising round. Focus on:
Revenue Projections: Recommending methods to predict income, such as, ‘Project monthly and annual revenue growth based on historical trends, customer acquisition plans, and market conditions.’
Expense Breakdown: Including detailed tracking, like, ‘Categorize operational, marketing, R&D, and scaling expenses to provide transparency in spending.’
Runway Calculation: Providing strategies to estimate cash flow, such as, ‘Forecast monthly cash burn to determine runway with and without new funding.’
Investor-Focused Metrics: Suggesting key indicators, like, ‘Include CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost), LTV (Lifetime Value), ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue), and EBITDA to demonstrate growth potential and profitability trajectory.’
Scenario Planning: Proposing ways to model funding impact, such as, ‘Develop multiple forecasts showing outcomes with varying funding amounts or terms.’
Provide a financial forecast template that highlights key metrics for investor presentations and supports a compelling fundraising pitch. If additional details about growth plans, expenses, or investor goals are needed, ask clarifying questions to refine the forecast.
Bonus Add-On Prompts
Propose strategies for modeling revenue acceleration post-funding based on expanded resources.
Suggest methods for incorporating exit strategies or IPO goals into long-term forecasts.
Highlight techniques for visualizing forecast data to enhance investor presentations.
Use AI responsibly by verifying its outputs, as it may occasionally generate inaccurate or incomplete information. Treat AI as a tool to support your decision-making, ensuring human oversight and professional judgment for critical or sensitive use cases.
SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE
Focus on specific funding stages, like seed, Series A, or Series B.
Include tips for creating forecasts tailored to specific types of investors (e.g., VCs, angels).
Propose ways to integrate competitive benchmarks into fundraising forecasts.
Highlight tools like PitchBook or Carta for building investor-focused reports.
Add suggestions for linking financial forecasts with pitch deck content.
WHEN TO USE
To prepare detailed financial projections for an investor pitch.
During pre-fundraising planning to align forecasts with business goals.
When presenting metrics to validate growth potential and financial health.
WHEN NOT TO USE
For internal forecasting without a direct fundraising need.
If financial data is insufficient to create reliable projections.