Tools > Startup Runway Calculator
Startup Runway Calculator
How many months of cash do you have left? Enter your balance and burn rate to find out — and see exactly when you need to start your next fundraise.
Total cash and equivalents available right now.
Total cash spent minus revenue collected per month.
$800.0k / $50.0k = 16.0 months
Total cash available today.
Total monthly operating costs (fixed + variable).
Monthly recurring revenue collected right now.
Compound monthly growth rate. As MRR grows, net burn shrinks.
How fast costs grow. 0% = costs stay flat.
Initial burn: $50.0k/mo, growing MRR at 8% MoM - dynamic runway: 10+ years
What is startup runway?
Runway is the number of months your startup can operate before running out of cash, at your current burn rate. It is the most urgent metric for any pre-profitability company — because when runway hits zero, everything stops.
The basic formula is simple: divide your cash in the bank by your monthly net burn. But the real insight comes from working backwards from fundraising timelines — because you need to start raising long before the money runs out.
Runway (months) = Cash in Bank / Monthly Net Burn
Fundraising Start = Runway - 6 months (raise takes 3-6 months on average)
Example: $800k cash / $50k burn = 16 months runway. Start raising by month 10.
How much runway do you need?
18 mo
The minimum recommended runway when closing a funding round.
Most experienced founders and investors recommend raising when you have 12-18 months left — not 3. A fundraise can take 3-6 months. Starting too late turns negotiation into desperation.
| Runway | Status | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 24+ months | Safe | Focus on growth. Keep monitoring burn but no urgent action needed. |
| 18-24 months | Healthy | Good position. Begin soft fundraising conversations to stay ahead of the market. |
| 12-18 months | Start raising | Start your fundraise now. A 6-month process leaves you 6-12 months buffer — the minimum investors expect. |
| 6-12 months | Urgent | Fundraise in parallel with cost reduction. Do both — do not wait for a term sheet before cutting. |
| 3-6 months | Critical | Bridge round, emergency cost cuts, or revenue acceleration needed immediately. Limited negotiating leverage. |
| < 3 months | Emergency | Crisis mode. Explore bridge financing, strategic partnerships, or revenue-based financing alongside any cost cuts. |
How to extend your runway
- Audit every cost line with a 30-day rule
Cancel any subscription or vendor contract you haven't used in 30 days. Most companies discover 15-20% of SaaS spend that can be cut immediately with no impact on operations. Do this before you cut headcount.
- Switch to annual billing
Offering a 1-2 month discount for annual prepayment gives you an immediate cash injection — often the equivalent of 1-2 months of additional runway. It also improves your committed revenue base and NRR.
- Accelerate collections
Chase every outstanding invoice. Reduce net payment terms from 30 to 14 days. Offer a 2% discount for early payment on large invoices. Delayed collections are silent runway killers.
- Focus sales on highest-ACV deals
A single $60k ACV deal buys the same runway as 12 x $5k deals — but costs far less to close. If runway is tight, temporarily narrow your ICP to the customer profiles with the highest average contract value.
- Explore non-dilutive funding
Revenue-based financing, venture debt, and R&D tax credits can add 3-9 months of runway without equity dilution. These options work best when applied before you are in crisis — lenders want to see a healthy business, not a desperate one.
Frequently asked questions
Why VeryCreatives?
Building a SaaS product?
Tight runway? Make every month count.
If you're building with limited capital, shipping fast and shipping right matters more than ever. VeryCreatives builds lean, production-ready SaaS products - no wasted sprints.