Spending5 min read
Fixed vs variable costs, sorted on a real budget
Fixed costs stay put when sales change; variable costs move with each sale. Sort a real startup budget with one test to find its monthly floor and break-even.
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Money, in plain language
Short guides on runway, burn, pricing and getting paid. Written for founders, not accountants. If you only need a term defined, the glossary has each one in a sentence.
Revenue6 min read
Rule of 40: formula, benchmarks, and when it lies
Revenue growth plus profit margin should reach 40%. How to compute it honestly, how few companies manage it, and the stages where the score means nothing.
People5 min read
How to pay yourself as a founder
Set a personal floor, fill the company's cash reserve first, then pay yourself a fixed monthly amount. How it works as a draw, salary or dividend, with numbers.
People5 min read
What a fractional CFO costs, and when to pay
Published fractional CFO rates, from $1,400 to $12,000 a month, what that buys in runway terms, and a test for whether your startup needs one yet.
Tools5 min read
Fathom HQ alternative for startup founders
Fathom (fathomhq.com) reports on your Xero, QuickBooks or MYOB books. What it does and costs, checked on its site, who it suits, and when founders need more.
Cash flow6 min read
Cash flow problems in a growing business
Profitable on paper and short of cash: how to tell a timing problem from a burn problem, find where the money is stuck, and free it before payroll day.
Cash flow5 min read
When will you run out of cash? Find the month
Cash divided by burn is a best case. Put the next months on a calendar with hires, annual bills and churn to find when you run out, and when you must act.
Revenue6 min read
What is MRR, and what belongs in it
MRR is the recurring revenue you can expect again next month. How to decide, line by line, what goes in it, how to read the monthly movements, and MRR vs ARR.
Revenue5 min read
ARR meaning: the number you can defend
ARR means annual recurring revenue, MRR times 12. How to build it from your customer list so it survives diligence, and what €1M ARR means in customers.
People5 min read
What a hire really costs, line by line
Price a hire the way your bank account sees it: salary plus employer taxes, pension, tools and one-offs, then the runway it spends and what it must earn back.
Cash flow5 min read
What is burn rate, and which one do you use?
Burn rate is the cash your company loses each month. How to get gross and net burn out of three months of bank statements, and the cleanups that decide it.
Revenue6 min read
Customer concentration: when one is too big
One customer at 35% of revenue is a runway question. How to stress-test it in four steps, where to draw the line, and what to change first to reduce the risk.
Revenue6 min read
SaaS metrics by stage: what to track now
Which SaaS metrics matter depends on your stage. What to track before revenue, with your first customers, once sales repeat, and when you spend on growth.
Cash flow8 min read
Default alive or default dead: the calculation
Paul Graham's test, worked through: the four inputs, the month-by-month projection, a spreadsheet you can copy, and one company that comes out both ways.
Fundraising5 min read
Burn multiple: what yours says and what to fix
Burn multiple is net burn divided by net new ARR. How to read it across quarters, take a bad quarter apart to find the cause, and fix the side that moved.
Getting paid5 min read
Getting paid on time: one invoice, day by day
Follow one €24,000 invoice from contract to cash, see where the days leak away, and set up the reminders, late-payment rights and dates that close the gap.
Getting paid4 min read
What does net 30 mean, and should you offer it?
Net 30 means payment is due 30 calendar days after the invoice date. The variants with real dates, and what net 30 or net 60 costs a startup in cash.
Pricing6 min read
Raising prices: how many customers can you lose?
Before you raise prices, work out how many customers you can lose and still come out ahead. The break-even math, the order to raise in, and the email to send.
Fundraising5 min read
How much runway should your round buy?
Size a round from the burn of the team the money will build, a plan that runs late, and six months to raise again. A worked seed example with three sizes.
Spending6 min read
Cut costs without cutting muscle: a runway plan
Start from the months of runway you need, work out the burn that gets you there, then cut in an order that protects revenue. A worked example, timing included.
Habits5 min read
Monthly business review: a worked example
A 30-minute monthly business review for founders, worked through one example month: five numbers, what moved and why, and the single decision it led to.