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CFO & Strategy

Burn Rate & Runway Management

Written by Harry Prabandham

Curated by Rubric Financial

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Understanding Burn Rate

Gross burn is total monthly cash outflow; net burn subtracts revenue, showing actual cash consumption per month
Track burn weekly in early-stage startups; monthly reviews are too infrequent when runway is under 12 months
Distinguish between fixed burn (rent, salaries, SaaS tools) and variable burn (marketing spend, contractor costs) to identify levers for reduction

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About the author

Harry Prabandham

Founder & CEO

Founder and CEO of StartupCFO. MBA from Wharton, MS in Computer Science, and decades of experience building and advising venture-backed startups.

More articles by Harry →

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