What Financial Metrics Matter at Each Stage
Written by Harry Prabandham
Curated by Rubric Financial
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Pre-Seed Metrics
- Burn rate (monthly cash outflow) is the single most important number. It determines how long you can operate before needing additional capital.
- Runway (cash balance divided by monthly burn) tells you how many months you have left; pre-seed companies should target 12-18 months of runway.
- Product development costs should be tracked separately from G&A to understand how much of your spend is going toward building vs overhead.
- At pre-seed, investors care more about capital efficiency and team than about revenue metrics, so show that you can do a lot with a little.
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About the author
Harry PrabandhamFounder & CEO
Founder and CEO of StartupCFO. MBA from Wharton, MS in Computer Science, and decades of experience building and advising venture-backed startups.
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