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The Only Financial Metric That Matters

Date

In 5 years, Bird burned through $883 million of venture capital funding.

Today, the company is only worth $44 million.

Why?

The founders forgot about the 1 financial metric that matters.

Let me break it down in 60 seconds…

Most founders don’t care about finance.

But there is one financial metric that matters most:

Runway

But for the past 5 years, runway didn't matter much.

Fundraising was easier.

Capital was cheaper.

And you could spend money like a drunken sailor with a broken business model!

Bird raised $883mm. They are worth $44mm.

Lyft raised $4.9 billion. They are worth $4 billion.

Bull markets are won by storytellers and growth gurus.

Bear markets are won by frugal founders with durable business models.

We’re in a bear market.

So...

What is runway?

What is “good” runway?

How can you extend runway without killing momentum?

What is runway?

= Cash in the bank / monthly burn rate

Cash balance = money you raised

Monthly burn rate = employee salaries, AWS costs, or office space

If you have $12 million and you burn $1 million per month...

You have 12 months to live.

What is “good” runway?

24 months.

In May 2022, Y Combinator sent an email.

The key quote:

“Regardless of your ability to fundraise, it’s your responsibility to ensure your company will survive if you cannot raise money for the next 24 months.”

Runway extension?

Two solutions:

1) Create Cost Flexibility

• Downsize office space

• Hire contractors vs. full-time employees

• Cut your vendor contracts to monthly vs. yearly

Cost flexibility keeps you nimble and adaptable to any economy.

2) Put your spare cash to work

Rates are rising.

For founders, this means you can earn up to ~4.6%* on your spare cash through U.S. Treasury Bills.

On $10 million, this is an extra $460,000 to extend your runway.

2023 is the year for wartime founders.

Wartime founders create cost flexibility.

Wartime founders put their spare cash to work.

And wartime founders get back to building no matter what the economy says.

I'll leave you with one question:

If you could never raise money again, how would you make sure your startup survives?

Do those things now.

Terms & Disclosures:


~4.6% is sourced from treasury.gov December 2022 52 week coupon equivalent rate yield. $460,000 calculated assuming treasury.gov's December 2022 52 week coupon equivalent yield based upon a $10 million deposit and held to maturity. Rates are indicative, and trade execution can affect the actual yield to maturity of the T-Bills. Projected and/or hypothetical performance is intended to show only an expected range of possible investment outcomes based on historical average returns and standard deviation of each investment type contained in the investment mix recommended by Helium, but does not take into consideration the effect of taxes, changing risk profiles, or future investment decisions. Projected and/or hypothetical performance does not represent actual client accounts or actual trades and may not reflect the effect of material economic and market factors. Meow is not an investment adviser however we’ve partnered with Helium Advisors LLC (“Helium”), an SEC-registered investment adviser, to bring you certain investing features. All investment advisory services are provided by Helium. We are not affiliated with Helium however we receive compensation as a percentage of assets managed by Helium for promoting Helium’s investment advisory services. Our partnership with Helium gives us an incentive to refer you to Helium instead of another investment adviser that is not a partner of ours. This conflict of interest affects our ability to provide you with unbiased, objective information about the services of Helium. This could mean that the services of another investment adviser with whom we are not partnered may be more appropriate for you than those of Helium. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal, and there is no assurance that the investment will provide positive performance over any period of time. Helium accounts are not bank guaranteed or FDIC insured.

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*Disclaimer: Meow Technologies is a financial technology company, not a depository, bank or credit union, and your account at Meow is not, itself, an FDIC-insured product.

Meow currently partners with three banking providers. Banking services are provided by Third Coast Bank SSB; Member FDIC, Grasshopper Bank, N.A; Member FDIC, and FirstBank, a Tennessee corporation.

By opening a Maximum Checking account through Meow and if you choose to receive banking services provided by Grasshopper Bank, N.A, you deposit your funds into a deposit account at Grasshopper Bank, N.A. which sweeps those funds into deposit accounts across a network of FDIC-insured banks, for up to the current SMDIA of $250,000 per eligible depositor, per destination institution, for each ownership capacity or category, subject to applicable terms and conditions Grasshopper's ICS Deposit Placement Agreement. Grasshopper Bank, N.A. uses a third-party vendor and agent to help administer this sweep process. Visit https://www.intrafi.com/network-banks/ for a list of the banks and savings associations with which we/Grasshopper, N.A. have a business relationship for the placement of deposits at destination institutions, and into which your deposits may be placed (subject to applicable terms with you, and any opt-outs by Grasshopper, N.A. or you). The current limit for access to FDIC insurance on your funds through your Maximum Checking account powered by Grasshopper is $125 million, subject to change at any time by Meow. Terms and restrictions apply. Subject to applicable rate sheet. Interest rate on checking products quoted in Annual Percentage Yield (APY). Interest rates and yields are effective as per the date on the rate sheet and are subject to change without notice. See applicable rate sheets. See our Account Agreements and other applicable terms. FDIC insurance is available to bank depositors up to $250,000 per eligible depositor, per FDIC-insured bank, per ownership capacity or category.

If you choose to open a Maximum Checking account powered by Third Coast Bank SSB, you deposit your funds into a deposit account at Third Coast Bank SSB, which sweeps those funds into deposit accounts across a network of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”)-insured banks, for up to the current standard maximum deposit insurance amount (“SMDIA”) of $250,000 per eligible depositor, per receiving bank, for each ownership capacity or category, including any other balances you may hold at that receiving bank directly or indirectly through other intermediaries, including broker-dealers. Third Coast Bank SSB uses a third-party vendor and agent to help administer this sweep process. Visit https://www.reichandtang.com/about/bank-lists/ for a list of the banks and savings associations with which we/Third Coast Bank SSB have a business relationship for the placement of deposits at receiving banks, and into which your deposits may be placed (subject to the Account Agreements with you, and any opt-outs by Third Coast Bank or you). The current limit for access to FDIC insurance on your funds through your Maximum Checking account powered by Third Coast Bank is $50 Million, subject to change at any time by Meow.

If you choose to receive banking services provided by FirstBank, a Tennessee corporation, you deposit your funds into a deposit account at FirstBank, which sweeps those funds into deposit accounts across a network of FDIC-insured banks, for up to the current SMDIA of $250,000 per eligible depositor, per destination institution, for each ownership capacity or category, subject to applicable terms and conditions, including FirstBank's ICS Deposit Placement Agreement. FirstBank uses a third-party vendor and agent to help administer this sweep process. Visit IntraFi for a list of the banks and savings associations with which FirstBank has a business relationship for the placement of deposits at destination institutions, and into which your deposits may be placed (subject to applicable terms with you, and any opt-outs by FirstBank or you). The current limit for access to FDIC insurance on your funds through your Maximum Checking account powered by FirstBank is $125 million, subject to change at any time by FirstBank. Interest rates and yields are effective as per the date on the applicable rate sheet (available here) and are subject to change without notice. Refer to the applicable rate sheet for additional information. See our Account Agreements (as defined below) and other applicable terms.

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