Readiness and runway tools
Work through the preparation areas and explore a simple monthly runway estimate.
Explore the funding toolsPATHWAY 02 / PREPARE YOUR NEXT STAGE
Make your opportunity easier to understand.
A useful funding conversation connects ambition with evidence. Work through the customer problem, the way your business works and the milestone you want to reach, then make the assumptions and capital needs easy to discuss.
Explore the pathwaySELF-GUIDED · AT YOUR OWN PACE
YOUR FOCUSFunding readiness
A USEFUL STARTING QUESTION
What would the next milestone demonstrate, and what would reaching it require?
THIS PATHWAY IS FOR
- Founders preparing to explore outside capital.
- Businesses refining their story before a funding conversation.
- Teams connecting a growth milestone to a practical cash plan.
WORK THROUGH THE PATHWAY
Three steps.
A more focused direction.
Move through the questions at a pace that fits your business. Keep the evidence, decisions and next actions together as you go.
- 01
Build a story grounded in evidence.
Explain the customer, the problem and your approach. Distinguish what exists today from what you intend to build. Define the time period and context for any traction measures you include.
ASK YOURSELFWhich claims can we support with customer, product or commercial evidence?
- 02
Connect capital to a milestone.
Describe the work you want to fund and the observable milestone it supports. Organise current cash, recurring costs and expected receipts. Use the runway tool to explore your assumptions and keep a fuller cash forecast alongside it.
ASK YOURSELFWhat will the capital help us learn, deliver or achieve?
- 03
Prepare for a focused conversation.
Work through the readiness checklist and record the unanswered questions. Review potential sources against their current stage, focus and criteria. Bring a clear purpose to the conversation so both sides can assess fit.
ASK YOURSELFWhat does this conversation need to clarify before either side moves forward?
TURN THE THINKING INTO SOMETHING USEFUL
Leave with
a practical output.
- 01
A structured business story
- 02
A visible set of cash assumptions
- 03
A milestone-linked readiness checklist
TOOLS FOR THIS PATHWAY
Put the next
step to work.
Use these public tools and field notes to organise your preparation and keep a record you can return to.
Funding readiness checklist
Keep a written checklist of your story, evidence, business model and milestone plan.
Download the checklistA clear funding story
Use five practical questions to organise what a funding conversation needs to understand.
Read the preparation guideCLEAR ANSWERS
Before your
next move.
What should I have ready before starting?
Bring what you know about your customer, product, business model, current cash position and next milestone. Keep observations, confirmed amounts and assumptions separate. The pathway helps make the gaps visible so you can work through them.
How should I use the runway estimate?
Use it to explore how available cash and a monthly cash-use assumption relate. Review the assumptions whenever conditions change. Include payment timing, variable costs and expected receipts in a more detailed cash forecast when planning actual decisions.
How does preparation relate to a funding decision?
Preparation makes your story and questions easier to assess. Each funding source sets its own eligibility, evidence requirements, terms and decisions. Use the pathway to build a clearer conversation and evaluate fit for your business.
YOUR NEXT MOVE
Give your funding story structure.
Work through the checklist, make your assumptions visible and connect the ask to a useful milestone.