Calculate your runway, burn rate and the critical deadlines you're working toward.
Know your numbers before you run out of time
18 months of runway is widely cited as the minimum comfortable position for a startup — 12 months to execute meaningfully, and 6 months of buffer to raise a new round before hitting zero. Falling below 12 months of runway forces fundraising from a position of weakness, when investors can sense desperation and valuations suffer accordingly.
Net burn rate (expenses minus revenue) is the number that actually matters, not gross burn. A startup spending $50,000/month with $30,000 in revenue has a $20,000 net burn — a critical distinction that gets obscured when founders only track total spend.
The breakeven point — when monthly revenue covers monthly expenses — is the most important milestone beyond initial funding. Every month of approaching breakeven extends your effective runway even without raising additional capital.