Calculate how many months of runway remain after a Series A round using cash balance, burn, revenue, hiring cost, and safety buffer. Use it to decide when to cut burn or prepare the next raise.
Longer runway gives the company more time to hit Series B milestones. A short runway increases financing risk and may require burn reduction or earlier fundraising.
Runway is a planning estimate. Revenue growth, hiring timing, one-time costs, and collections can materially change the actual cash-out date.
With $6,000,000 cash, $600,000 gross burn, $300,000 revenue, and $50,000 planned hiring cost, net burn is $350,000 and runway is about 17.1 months.
Many Series A startups aim for 18 to 24 months of runway so they can reach the next financing milestone without urgent fundraising pressure.
A company often prepares the next raise before runway falls below 9 to 12 months, especially if market conditions are uncertain.
Investors compare runway against growth rate, burn multiple, hiring plan, and whether the company can reach clear milestones before cash runs out.
Gross burn is total monthly cash spending, while net burn subtracts revenue from monthly spending.
You can extend runway by reducing discretionary spend, slowing hiring, improving collections, increasing revenue, or cutting inefficient acquisition channels.
| Metric | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Runway | Months until cash is exhausted. |
| Net Burn | Monthly cash loss after revenue. |
| Hiring Impact | Extra monthly burn from planned team growth. |
| Funding Urgency | Risk level based on remaining runway. |