I Had 14 Months of Runway. Except I Didn't

The Simple Math

Did the simple math in 2022.

Cash in bank. Divided by monthly burn. 14 months.

Plenty of time. Relaxed. Kept building.

The Bills

Then the bills started hitting.

Health insurance. $520 a month I wasn't paying when I had a job.

Self-employment tax. 15% I never set aside. Quarterly payments I'd never heard of.

Annual expenses I'd divided by nothing. Domain renewals. Software subscriptions that bill yearly. Accountant fees.

The "surprise" that hits every quarter. Car repair. Medical thing. Something breaks. Always something.

9 Months

Real runway: 9 months.

I found out at month 6.

By then my options were already closing. Fundraising takes 3-6 months. Finding a job takes 2-3. Pivoting takes time you don't have when you're panicking.

I got lucky. A lot of founders don't.

The Gap

The gap between "cash ÷ burn" and reality is usually 25-40%.

That's not a rounding error. That's the difference between "I have time to figure this out" and "I'm already fucked and don't know it yet."

The Calculator

So I built a calculator that does it right.

Not just the simple math. The real math.

Health insurance costs by country. Self-employment tax reserves. Annual expenses spread monthly. Quarterly surprise buffer. Emergency fund you shouldn't touch.

Five minutes. Spit out the actual number.

Here's the link: founderreality.com/tools/runway-calculator

Decision Deadlines

It also tells you when your options close.

If you need to fundraise, you need to start X months before runway hits zero. If you need to find a job, Y months. If you need to pivot, Z months.

Those aren't the same number. And knowing when each deadline passes changes how you plan.

Free Forever

The calculator is free. No login. No credit card. No "enter your email to see results."

Just put in your numbers, get the real runway, see when your decisions need to happen.

Why I Built It

I built this because I wish someone had shown me the gap before I hit month 6 in 2022.

The simple math feels safe. Comforting. "I have over a year."

The real math is uncomfortable. But uncomfortable at month 1 beats desperate at month 6.

Go run your numbers: founderreality.com/tools/runway-calculator

If the gap between simple and real is small, great. You're more careful than I was.

If it's 25-40% like most founders, at least you know now.

While you can still do something about it.