How do I calculate my cash runway, and how do I know when I need to raise or borrow?
The short answer
Runway is simply current cash divided by your average monthly net burn over the last 3 months - and you should be recalculating it monthly, not once a year. Start the raise-or-borrow conversation at 6+ months of runway left, not 2, because both equity rounds and working-capital debt in India take longer to close than founders expect. If your burn is inventory-driven rather than opex-driven, debt (working capital loans, invoice financing) is usually cheaper than equity for that specific need.
A quick summary to orient you. The real value is below: the resources worth your time, from people who've actually done it, not us.
Here are the resources
Hand-picked from around the web, each with a note on why it earns your time. India-specific ones carry a badge.
Why we picked it
The fastest way to absorb the Profit First system if you're not going to read the whole book right now - a practical, step-by-step video from the author himself.
Why we picked it
A rare India-specific look at non-dilutive funding for D2C brands - working capital and revenue-based debt matched to inventory and marketing cycles instead of the default 'raise a round' instinct.
Why we picked it
A single-purpose calculator that answers the one question that matters when things get tight: how many months of cash do I actually have left, computed properly off trailing burn, not a guess.
