Know Your Numbers Before You Pitch
The handful of numbers every founder should be able to explain: cash, burn, runway, customer economics, and milestones.
Investors expect first-time founders to be early, not to be vague. Knowing a few numbers cold shows that you understand your own business.
Cash, burn, and runway
Cash is what you have in the bank today. Burn is how much you spend each month, net of what you earn. Runway is cash divided by burn: the number of months you can operate before running out. Know all three, and know how they will change over the next year.
Customer economics
Two numbers matter more than most. What does it cost to win a customer? What does a customer pay you over the life of the relationship? If you have not yet sold much, say so, and show your assumptions and how you plan to test them.
Milestones, not just a number
"We are raising a certain amount" is incomplete. Investors want to hear what the money will accomplish: the product launched, the customers signed, the revenue reached. A good raise funds a specific set of milestones that make the next round of funding easier.
Be honest about what you do not know
Early-stage numbers are estimates. State the assumptions behind them and say how you will check them. A founder who says "this is what we know, this is our estimate, and this is how we will find out" is more credible than one who presents invented precision.
Your task for this module
On one page, write your cash, monthly burn, runway, your best estimate of customer acquisition cost and customer value, and the three milestones you would reach with the money you want to raise.