Runway and burn rate

How to calculate monthly burn, project runway, and decide when spending needs to change. Covers common mistakes in early-stage cash planning.

Cap tables and equity

What a cap table tracks, how option pools and dilution work, and the vocabulary that appears in term sheets.

Fundraising mechanics

An introduction to pre-seed through Series A rounds, valuation basics, SAFEs and convertible notes, written in plain terms.

Financial statements

How to read your own income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement without an accounting background.

How it's structured

A suggested reading order

New founders often ask where to start. This is the sequence we recommend, though every guide is written to be understood on its own.

Step 01

Know your current numbers

Get a clear picture of cash on hand, monthly spend and current runway before anything else.

Step 02

Learn the vocabulary

Terms like dilution, pre-money valuation and liquidation preference come up constantly — we define them plainly.

Step 03

Understand how rounds work

Study how financing rounds are structured and what typically changes at each stage.

Step 04

Build your own reporting habit

Combine what you've learned into a simple, repeatable way of tracking your company's financial health.

Person reviewing financial charts on a laptop screen
A note on scope

This is education, not advice.

None of the material on this site constitutes personalised financial, investment, legal, tax or accounting advice, and we do not offer paid consultations, courses, fundraising support, or advisory retainers. If you are making a specific financial or fundraising decision, we encourage you to speak with a licensed, qualified professional.

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Questions about a specific topic?

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