Finance for Startups

This module shows you how to set up and run a lean, reliable finance function for an early-stage, impact-driven startup. You’ll clarify bookkeeping vs. accounting, choose cash vs. accrual, implement weekly/monthly routines, prepare core financial statements and runway, build forecasts and financial models, understand valuation approaches, design a KPI dashboard, and avoid common pitfalls.

What You’ll Learn

• Why finance matters for founders: investor expectations, validating your business, and how entity choice influences decisions.
• Bookkeeping essentials: what to record and save (receipts, invoices, bank statements, grants/donations), plus a practical weekly checklist.
• Accounting choices and tools: cash vs. accrual methods; DIY vs. software vs. freelancer/team; when to use each.
• Financial statements & runway: prepare a Balance Sheet, P&L, and Cash Flow Statement, and calculate cash runway.
• Forecasting for impact startups: separate earned vs. non-earned income, probability-weight grants, and align targets to impact goals.
• Financial modelling & scenarios: build a simple model, run base/probable/worst/best cases, and test hiring or pricing changes.
• KPI dashboards: decide goals, metrics, targets, update cadence, and visualize progress.
• Metrics that matter: gross profit margin, revenue growth rate, working capital, cost per beneficiary, and cost per outcome.
• Valuation basics for early stage: cost-to-duplicate, market multiples, and DCF (including impact considerations).
• Common mistakes to avoid: cash-flow blind spots, over-reliance on grants, mixing revenue types, underestimating costs, and not tracking KPIs.

Key Outcomes

• A clear weekly/monthly finance routine, organized records, and reconciled accounts.
• Accurate core statements and a calculated runway to guide decisions.
• A 12–24 month forecast and a working financial model with scenario analysis.
• A KPI dashboard tracking the right metrics for both finance and impact.
• Ability to explain valuation approaches and speak confidently with investors.
• Awareness to spot and prevent common finance mistakes early.