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The path ahead
Early-stage founders often focus on product and growth but neglect the financial planning that keeps a company healthy. This path covers the essentials: building a financial model investors want to see, pricing your product correctly from day one, maximizing tax deductions, and tracking experiments to make data-driven decisions.
Follow this path to build financial discipline into your business from the start.
Step 1 of 4 · 4-5 hours
Step 1: Build Your Financial Model
3-year P&L, cash flow, and profitability projections.
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Check off these key actions to complete this step:
Coach's Perspective
Use conservative revenue projections—investors respect realism. Model three scenarios: conservative, base case, and optimistic. Include customer acquisition cost (CAC) and lifetime value (LTV) in your assumptions.
Check off these key actions to complete this step:
Coach's Perspective
Test pricing with customers before launch—run a few paid pilots at different price points. Raising prices later is harder than getting the unit economics right from the start. Track customer acquisition cost vs. lifetime value ruthlessly.
Check off these key actions to complete this step:
Coach's Perspective
Set up separate accounting from day one—use QuickBooks or Wave. Keep receipts for everything. Home office deductions, software subscriptions, and meals with clients all count. Talk to a CPA before year-end to optimize structure.
Check off these key actions to complete this step:
Coach's Perspective
Log experiments consistently: what you tested, expected outcome, actual result, and what you learned. Review monthly to spot patterns. Kill underperforming channels early instead of throwing more money at them.