Book · book (~304 pages)

Financial Intelligence for Entrepreneurs

Karen Berman & Joe Knight · hbr.org Paid Intermediate

The most accessible book for non-finance founders on reading a P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow statement. It demystifies the three core statements without requiring an accounting background.

  • The three statements each answer a different question, read them together
  • A profitable company can still go broke on cash flow
  • Founders should be able to interpret their own numbers, not just delegate them
Open on store.hbr.org ↗

It answers 6 questions

  1. What financial basics does every founder need to understand?
  2. What is burn rate and runway, and how do I calculate them?
  3. How should I manage cash flow so my startup doesn't run out of money?
  4. Do I need an accountant and proper bookkeeping from day one?
  5. What taxes and compliance do I need to handle as an Indian startup?
  6. How do I read a P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow statement?

Read with it

  1. Stripe's founder guides are clean, trustworthy primers on the core financial concepts every founder must track, burn, runway,... stripe.com Article · guide library Startup Financials: Burn Rate & Runway, Stripe / Founder Guides Stripe
  2. A practical India-specific reference on GST, TDS, ROC filings, and startup tax compliance, the stuff Indian founders most often... cleartax.in Article · guide hub ClearTax / Razorpay Rize, GST, TDS & Compliance for Indian Startups ClearTax
  3. A behavioral, dead-simple cash-management system used by over a million businesses to stay permanently profitable. Perfect for... mikemichalowicz.com Book · book (~224 pages) Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster Mike Michalowicz
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