In every first meeting I have with a founder, I eventually ask one question that usually stops the conversation cold:

"How many months of runway do you have left?"

Sometimes, there's a rough guess. Sometimes, there's a pause and a hopeful answer. And sometimes (too often) — there's a silent admission: they don't really know.

Over the years working as a Fractional CFO, I've learned that this one question reveals more about a company's financial health and leadership mindset than any financial statement ever could.

If a founder doesn't know their runway, they are steering their business without a map, hoping momentum alone will get them safely to the next milestone.

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Running out of cash is one of the most preventable causes of startup failure — and yet, it remains one of the most common. The founders I work with aren't reckless or........

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