Calculate how many months of runway your startup has. Enter cash balance, monthly expenses, and revenue to see your burn rate, runway, and when you need to start fundraising.
Startup runway is the number of months a company can operate before running out of cash. Runway = Cash Balance / Net Monthly Burn. Net burn = Monthly expenses - Monthly revenue.
Most investors recommend 18-24 months of runway at all times. This gives time to reach the next milestone, run a proper fundraising process (6-9 months), and buffer for unexpected delays.
Gross burn is total monthly expenses. Net burn is expenses minus revenue. If you spend $50,000/month and earn $15,000, net burn is $35,000. Always use net burn to calculate actual runway.
Start fundraising at least 6 months before you run out of money. The average seed round takes 3-6 months to close. Starting late means negotiating from weakness and potentially accepting bad terms.
It depends entirely on stage and progress. Early seed-stage startups typically burn $20,000-100,000/month. Series A companies burn $200,000-500,000/month. What matters is efficiency: revenue growth relative to burn.
Cut non-essential expenses, accelerate revenue (raise prices, focus on sales), explore revenue-based financing or venture debt, negotiate extended payment terms with suppliers, or raise a bridge round from existing investors.
Without new funding, the company must become cash-flow positive immediately (often via layoffs), find a buyer (acquihire), or shut down. This is why extending runway and timing fundraising carefully is existential for startups.