Forecast views
When to Use Top-Down vs Bottom-Up Forecasting in a Startup Financial Model
Learn when to use market sizing, top-down scenarios, and bottom-up event-driven forecasting in a startup financial model.
Anastasiia Nikolaeva
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Practical guides for early-stage founders building SaaS and subscription products.
Pillar guide
Start with the Startup Financial Modeling Guide
A practical guide to building a connected startup financial model — and using it to make better decisions across pricing, acquisition, costs, runway, and fundraising.
Forecast views
How to Read Startup Unit Economics Without Fooling Yourself
Use forecasted unit economics to stress-test CAC, churn, payback, plan mix, channels, and contribution before growth spend scales.
Anastasiia Nikolaeva
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Forecast views
How to Read Startup Cash Flow and Runway Before It Becomes a Problem
Read startup Cash Flow as a survival and timing view: collections, outflows, financing, ending cash, and month-by-month runway risk.
Anastasiia Nikolaeva
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Forecast views
How to Read a Startup P&L Without Missing What Matters
Read startup P&L in layers — revenue, COGS, gross profit, operating expenses, and EBITDA — and know what this operating view explains best.
Anastasiia Nikolaeva
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Forecast views
How to Read the Step-by-Step Forecast Behind Your Startup Numbers
Use a detailed step-by-step forecast layer to trace how assumptions create subscribers, revenue, costs, and burn behind high-level finance views.
Anastasiia Nikolaeva
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Forecast views
How to Read a Startup Financial Model After You Build It
Use P&L, Cash Flow, Unit Economics, and a detailed monthly forecast together to interpret one connected startup model and make clearer operating decisions.
Anastasiia Nikolaeva
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Financing
How to Plan Startup Financing Around Runway and Milestones
Plan financing from cash timing and milestones: founder funding, staged rounds, minimum vs suggested raise, buffer, and the funding gap on top of a solid operating forecast.
Anastasiia Nikolaeva
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Costs
How to Plan Headcount and Payroll Timing in a Startup Financial Model
Model hiring as role-by-role timing decisions so payroll, burn, runway, and fundraising need stay aligned to milestones.
Anastasiia Nikolaeva
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Costs
How to Budget Startup Overhead Without Overbuilding Too Early
Stage recurring overhead and one-time setup work separately so burn, runway, and fundraising needs reflect the company you have now.
Anastasiia Nikolaeva
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CostsUnit economics
Which Startup Costs Should Sit in Cost of Revenue?
Payment processing, per-user serving, trials and free usage, and usage-based APIs close to margin — payroll, overhead, and acquisition elsewhere.
Anastasiia Nikolaeva
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CostsUnit economics
How to Model Cost Structure for an Early-Stage SaaS Startup
COGS, SG&A, Team, and one-time costs — staged by milestone — so margin, burn, and unit economics stay readable before fundraising.
Anastasiia Nikolaeva
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CostsUnit economicsPricing
How to Forecast Generative AI API Costs Before You Launch an AI Feature
Model generative AI under COGS: cost per action, caps by plan, explicit trial and free usage, then read COGS, margin, cash, and unit economics.
Anastasiia Nikolaeva
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AcquisitionUnit economics
How to Plan Paid Acquisition for an Early-Stage SaaS Before You Start Spending
Separate paid channels with budget, start and end months, CPC or CPM buying, and funnel conversion — then read subscribers, CAC, and burn before you commit spend.
Anastasiia Nikolaeva
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AcquisitionUnit economics
How Many Partner Signups Can You Really Put in Your SaaS Forecast?
Split partners into real signup-based sources with growth, caps, payouts, and end dates — so subscribers and CAC stay tied to how you actually sell.
Anastasiia Nikolaeva
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Acquisition
How Much Organic Growth Can You Really Put in Your SaaS Forecast?
Split non-paid traffic into real sources—compounding, steady, and finite—with visits, caps, conversions, and end dates you can still believe in later.
Anastasiia Nikolaeva
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AcquisitionUnit economics
How to Model Acquisition Channels for a Self-Serve SaaS or AI Subscription Product
Split paid, organic, partners, and referral into channel inputs—then trace trials, subscribers, CAC, and revenue.
Anastasiia Nikolaeva
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Access modelAcquisition
Free Trial vs Freemium: How to Choose and Model the Right SaaS Access Strategy Before Launch
Model trial vs freemium paths side by side: funnel shape, subscriber timing, and when revenue becomes visible.
Anastasiia Nikolaeva
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PricingUnit economics
How to Model SaaS Pricing Before Launch: Plan Mix, Billing Cadence, Churn, and LTV
Plan mix, billing cadence, and churn assumptions—modeled before launch so revenue, cash, and LTV stay coherent.
Anastasiia Nikolaeva
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