Step 1: Know Your Burn & Runway (Weekly)

Track your burn rate and cash runway every single week. This simple habit gives you early warning signs before cash gets tight, and allows for smarter decisions around hiring, expenses, and fundraising.

Why This Matters

Waiting until your bank balance “feels low” is a dangerous and often expensive mistake. Weekly burn tracking gives founders visibility and control. It helps you spot creeping costs early, make deliberate tradeoffs, and extend your runway with confidence — not desperation.
If your team knows you're tracking, they'll spend smarter.

Key Activities

Calculate burn rate: Monthly net cash out (expenses – revenue)
Track beginning-of-month cash and update weekly
Calculate runway: Cash ÷ Monthly Burn Rate
Visualize in a simple dashboard or spreadsheet
Share summary metrics with co-founders or advisors

Common Mistakes

Only reviewing cash when preparing to fundraise
Treating runway as a static number instead of a weekly signal
Confusing revenue growth with cash health
Relying on bank balance rather than structured tracking
Not involving the rest of the team in cost awareness

Signals You're Doing It Right

You always know your current runway within ±1 week
Weekly dashboards are updated consistently
You adjust spending proactively based on trends
The team understands the importance of financial discipline
Your investor updates include clear cash metrics

Red Flags

You realize your runway is shorter than you thought
Burn rate creeps up without a matching revenue bump
Forecasting only happens before fundraising rounds
There’s no single source of truth for financial metrics
Spending decisions are made without knowing current cash impact

Who Should Own This

Founder or Co-Founder (with optional review from a Fractional CFO or finance mentor)