A common rule of thumb is several months of essential expenses, and founders often lean toward the higher end, say closer to a year, precisely because your income and your net worth already ride on the same risky company. The point of this money is availability, not growth, so it should be somewhere safe and quick to reach, like a savings account, a sweep fixed deposit, or a low-risk liquid fund, not locked into your startup or a volatile asset. Keep it strictly separate from the business so it is there on your worst day. Zerodha Varsity's personal finance module and Freefincal cover how to size and park it, and ClearTax explains how debt funds work and are taxed. Note that fund taxation and interest rates change, so confirm the current treatment with a CA or a qualified advisor. This is general education, not advice, so adjust the buffer to your own life.
A curated summary to orient you, not advice. The resources below are the real value.
3 hand-picked resources, 3 India-specific, 2 link-checked. Pick how you want to dig in.
Why we picked it What debt funds are, the types, the risks, and their recently changed tax treatment in India, before you park money in one.
From ClearTax by ClearTax
Open cleartax.in →Why we picked it The free, India-first grounding in what to do with cash once you have it: goals, allocation, SIPs, and not losing it to fees.
From Zerodha Varsity by Zerodha Varsity
Open zerodha.com →Why we picked it A no-nonsense, ad-light India personal-finance site: plain math and free calculators for emergency funds, goals, and asset allocation, with no product to sell you.
From Freefincal by M. Pattabiraman
Open freefincal.com →
