← Glossary GLOSSARY

Runway

How many months of cash you have left at the current net burn rate.

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The longer version

Cash on hand divided by net burn equals runway. If you have $1.2M in the bank and you are burning $100K per month net, your runway is 12 months. The honest version uses a forward-looking forecast, not a trailing average, because plans change.

Why it matters in your books

Runway is the single most important number for an early-stage company. Every operational decision compresses or extends it; investors will ask before they read the rest of the deck.