Calculate Your Runway
Enter your current cash position and monthly financials. The calculator will show your runway in months, burn rate, and a visual indicator of your financial health.
Understanding Your Burn Rate
Gross burn rate is your total monthly expenses -- everything you spend, regardless of revenue. This is the number that tells you how expensive your operation is.
Net burn rate is gross burn minus monthly revenue. This is the number that actually matters for runway calculation. If you spend $30,000/month and earn $10,000/month, your net burn is $20,000/month.
Runway is simply cash in bank divided by net burn. If you have $200,000 and burn $20,000 net per month, you have 10 months of runway.
The danger zone starts at 6 months. Below 6 months of runway, you're in survival mode. Most founders in Miami and beyond underestimate how long fundraising takes -- plan for 3-6 months from first meeting to money in the bank.
How to Extend Your Runway
Cut the nice-to-haves first. Premium office space, expensive tools, conferences -- these go first. Move to a coworking space or work remotely. Downgrade from premium SaaS plans to free tiers.
Reduce team costs without losing people. Before layoffs, consider salary deferrals with equity compensation, moving full-time employees to part-time, or bringing on contractors instead of employees. Every person who leaves takes institutional knowledge with them.
Accelerate revenue. Offer annual plans at a discount (get 12 months of revenue now instead of over 12 months). Launch a consulting service alongside your product. Find your first paying customer before your runway runs out.
Consider a venture studio partnership. Instead of paying cash for development, find a venture studio that works for equity. This can save $100,000+ in development costs, extending your runway by months.
Use LATAM talent. If you're paying US-rate developers $150-$250/hour, switching to equally skilled LATAM developers at $45-$85/hour can cut your biggest expense by 40-60%. Many Miami-based startups have done exactly this. See our developer rates comparison.
When to Start Fundraising
The brutal truth: start fundraising when you have 6-8 months of runway left. Not when you have 2 months. Not when you're desperate. Fundraising from a position of strength gets you better terms and more options.
A typical fundraising timeline: 1-2 months to prepare (deck, data room, financial model), 2-3 months of active meetings and due diligence, 1-2 months to close. That's 4-7 months total. If you start with 3 months of runway, you'll run out of money before the check clears.
If your runway is already below 6 months, consider alternatives to traditional VC funding: revenue-based financing, SAFE notes from angel investors (faster to close), grants, accelerators, or venture studio equity partnerships. These can bridge you to a stronger fundraising position.