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------ FREE EXCEL MODEL -------

CASH PLAN FOR
EARLY-STAGE STARTUPS

Make every dollar count (since day one).

👉  IN ONE SIMPLE (BUT POWERFUL) EXCEL MODEL: CASH FLOW FORECAST, FUNDING NEEDS, RUNWAY, BURN RATE, AND MORE…

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Never Rely On "Soon"

An empty pocket can kill a startup dream.

Although it’s very likely you already knew it, it’s also very likely you’re not caring enough about it.

Probably, you believe in one of the two statements below:

A. “Soon, customers will come… say ‘yes’ to my offer, give me their money, and fill my startup’s bank account with tons of benjamins.”

B. “Soon, investors will come… say ‘yes’ to my ask, give me their cash, and end any financial struggle I might have.”

If you comfortably rely on “A” or “B” (or both), be careful.

Leading your pre-traction startup based on these beliefs is being careless about your startup’s cash. 

Yes, you can get customers. Sure, you’re able to raise funds.

But, what happens if “soon” is not that soon?

How well can you lead your startup with its current cash?

 

Always Rely On Your Cash Planning

Hey, I’m not saying you should be averse to funding, or to completely dismiss traction. What I’m saying is that by planning your early-stage cash, you’ll be in a much better position to:

  1. Get customers (by having more money for the validation process).
  2. Convince investors (by showing them how serious you are about the use of funds).

And what if you had a perfect cash planning?

Well, that means you would be able to:

  • Know what happens with your startup’s cash balance in the near future.
  • Know how long your startup can survive without traction or funding.
  • Consider more effective and efficient ways of spending your cash.
  • Determine the amount of cash you’ll need, based on your target runway.
  • Compare the amount you spent vs. your budget.

Set yourself up for success, now.
Start winning the game by smartly playing the first moves.

It's time to manage your startup's cash, seriously.

Count on a simple and powerful Excel model to help you master your early-stage startup’s cash.

THE EARLY-STAGE CASH PLANNING

Excel Model

  • Cash Flow Forecast: Visualize what will happen with your startup’s cash in the next 24 months.
  • Cash Runway: Discover how long your startup can survive with its current cash.
  • Cash Burn Rate: Estimate your average spending per month.
  • Funding Needs: Identify how much money your startup needs to raise.
  • # of Cycles: Estimate the number of “build-measure-learn” cycles you still have to run.
  • Burn per Cycle: Calculate your startup’s average burn per cycle.

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Unlock Your Founder's Super-Powers

The Early-Stage Cash Planning Model allows you to unlock amazing super-powers.

See the future

Use the 24-month forecast to visualize how your startup's cash will behave in the near future, and what are the items that are affecting it the most.

Kill Cash Vilains

Understand your monthly Burn Rate and burn per cycle to discover what threatens your cash. Discover harmful items and focus on eliminating them.

Ressurect from Ashes

Once you kill the cash villains, you'll have more cash to use in your validation process. More available cash, more cycles to try again.

Save the Innocent Shares

By increasing the amount of available cash and the number of "build-measure-learn" cycles, you'll have more chances of generating traction. Once you get traction, you'll increase your startup's value (and reduce the number of shares required by investors).

Make Your Startup Fly

All your efforts to improve your early-stage cash management will reflect in a much more healthy and reliable company for customers, investors, partners, and employees. That means, the universe will be with you on your mission to take your startup to the skies!
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All You Need
(In Just 3 Steps)

Using the model is a piece of cake.

1. Insert Your Numbers

If you’re concerned about how to use the model, stop worrying right now. All the information required by the model should be inserted in what I call “The Inputs Panel”. 

The Inputs Panel is a grey box at the left of the model. That means you’ll be able to easily find the place where you should include all your startup’s data. 

There, you’ll fill in the blue cells. That’s it.

Every time you include a new information, the model will recalculate its metrics for you.

2. Generate The Forecast

Once you’ve filled in the blue cells with your startup’s info, the model will generate the forecast for you.

You don’t need to worry about adjusting anything. The forecast will be presented automatically.

It will allow you to visualize how your inflows and outflows impact your cash balance in the next 24 months.

Feel free to play with the numbers.

What would happen if you reduce the MVP costs? What would happen if you cut the time in the development process?

Check it out! 🙂

3. Get The Insights

More than just a forecast, the model gives you great insights.

It will consider all the info you’ve provided in the Inputs Panel to generate: your funding needs, your cash runway, your cash burn rate, the number of build-measure-learn cycles you’ll be able to run, and the cash balance chart.

All these metrics will give you what you need to master your cash allocation and make the best cash decisions for your startup to find traction.

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Hi! Alex here...

Yes, I’m the guy behind the model.

But, wait… Why should you trust me at all?

I have 3 great reasons for that:

1) My CASH expertise: I’ve graduated in business administration with specialization in controlling and finance. I’ve worked for almost 9 years in the Corporate Finance department of a big multinational company. In the last years there, I was the head of the Cash Management process. So, cash management has been a good friend of mine for a long time.

2) My STARTUP expertise: I simply love the startup world (I left my job because of it). For more than 10 years I’ve been studying and practicing startup development methodologies (such as The Lean Startup, Design Thinking, and Growth Hacking). In the last 5 years, I’ve been dedicating myself to help startup founders like you by producing content (in this website), as well as through my mentoring sessions.

3) My EXCEL expertise: Through all my career, Excel was my favorite application (I was actually known as an Excel “guru”). And I always had my own way of using it: by building simple, but extremely useful models. My purpose is to build models that are functional, useful and meant for any person to use.

So, the Early-Stage Cash Planning model was carefully designed, taking into account all the knowledge I’ve acquired through all these years.

I know you’ll love it! 

Why is this model perfect for
"pre-traction" startups?

Because it Talks "Validation"

The Lean Startup Methodology tells us: “build, measure, learn”. So why would we ignore it while planning our startups’ cash? 

Hence, in this model, you’ll be able to inform the validation method, costs, times, and payment method, so the model will incorporate it into its calculation. 

Quick tip: simulate different outcomes, by changing costs, times, and payment.

Your inputs...

👇

...become your (automatic) forecast

Because it Thinks "Cycles"

How do you conquer traction? By constantly building, testing and validating your assumptions.

So, you build something (Landing page, prototype, MVP, etc), test it with your potential customers, and you learn what worked (and what didn’t). In other words, you’re frequently running “Build-Measure-Learn” cycles.

The Cash Planning Model provides you an estimate for the number of cycles you can run with your current cash.

Your mission as a founder is to maximize the number of cycles you can run (i.e., more chances to succeed).

 

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FAQ

Most frequent questions and answers

Definitely NOT. All the models I create are easy to be used. They basically work like an app. Inside the Excel file, you’ll find the “Input Panels” in which you’ll insert your startup’s assumptions. As soon as you include the information, the model will do the work for you. P.S.: You can message me at any time, in case of remaining doubts.

Yes! Whenever I update the model (by adding features, fixing errors, etc.), I’ll send the new version directly to your email address.

No. This model was developed considering the current context and challenges of a pre-traction startup. That means, validation is the main goal.

Yes, you must have Excel on your computer (it won’t work if you use Excel Online)

Still have questions? No problem. Send me a message, and I’ll give your answers. 🙂

Ready to Plan Your Early-Stage Startup's Cash?

Get the "Cash Plan for Early-Stage Startups" Excel Model here.

Note: I’ll add your email to my list so I can send you early-stage startup relevant content. I’ll never disclosure your data to third parties, and you’re free to go whenever you want by just choosing to “unsubscribe”.

👉 STEP 1: Click on The Button. Yep that green button at your left (if you’re in a desktop/laptop) or scrolling down (if you’re in mobile).

👉 STEP 2: Receive the Excel Model. After subscribing, you’ll get an email a link to download the Excel model + instructions

👉 STEP 3: Open the model, insert the inputs, and enjoy the view! A piece of cake. Isn’t it? Bon appéti!

What else would you like to know?
Get in touch here.

© 2021 The Traction Stage.

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