Screensharing $90M of Startup Finance Lessons in 32 Minutes
The Startup Ideas Podcast
Intro
Greg introduces his founder money rules and why mastering cash flow saved companies, plus sponsor mention.
Master Your Cashflow (Templates Included): https://startup-ideas-pod.link/money-map
On this episode, I share my simple financial operating system that helps me run my business. I share actual workflows that have saved one of my portfolio company from an 11-week runway crisis (when they thought they had 8 months), and the templates behind his 13-week cash tracker, Bear/Base/Bull decision framework, and one-page board report. This is a rare look inside the tactics I use to think about cash flow, dilution strategy, and building companies that don't run out of runway by accident.
Bank with Brex: https://startup-ideas-pod.link/brex-sip
Timestamps
00:00 – Intro: The whiteboard that saved two companies
02:08 – The Financial Rhythm: Daily, weekly, monthly cadence
03:23 – Rule 1: The 13-Week Cash Flow System
06:10 – Rule 2: Cash vs. Accrual
08:14 – Rule 3: Extend Runway
12:13 – Rule 4: Be Exit Ready
15:06 – Rule 5: Cards and Credit
18:01 – Rule 6: Track 5 Weekly Metrics
20:00 – Rule 7: The Monthly One-Pager
21:12 – Rule 8: Tools and Automation
26:11 – Rule 9: Dilution Mindset
27:59 – How to implement: The weekly rhythm in practice
29:31 – Action plan and closing
Key Points
Your P&L lies about survival—one portfolio company thought they had 8 months of runway but actually had 11 weeks when mapped to real cash flow
The Bear/Base/Bull decision framework prevents emotional spending: if two-plus scenarios say no, wait (a $60K conference booth was rejected in bear case, approved two months later in bull case)
Acquisitions happen in 48 hours—keep a 10-file data room updated quarterly so you can respond to Tuesday emails with Wednesday meetings
Trust doesn't scale, policy does: weekly corporate card reviews caught an $8K personal ad spend in 7 days instead of 30
The system runs itself once built: 15 minutes Monday + 30 minutes Friday + 4 hours/month replaces heroic monthly scrambles
Every dollar raised costs ownership forever—cutting $40K/month burn has the same 12-month runway impact as fundraising but with 0% dilution
The #1 tool to find startup ideas/trends - https://www.ideabrowser.com
LCA helps Fortune 500s and fast-growing startups build their future - from Warner Music to Fortnite to Dropbox. We turn 'what if' into reality with AI, apps, and next-gen products https://latecheckout.agency/
Boringmarketing - Vibe Marketing for Companies: boringmarketing.com
The Vibe Marketer - Join the Community and Learn: thevibemarketer.com
Startup Empire - get your free builders toolkit to build cashflowing business - https://startup-ideas-pod.link/startup-empire-toolkit
Become a member - https://startup-ideas-pod.link/startup-empire
FIND ME ON SOCIAL
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/
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