Runway is how long your startup can operate before running out of money. Calculate: Current cash ÷ Monthly burn rate = Runway in months. Example: $300k cash ÷ $25k monthly burn = 12 months runway. Recommended: 12-24 months runway. Start fundraising at 6-9 months remaining (fundraising takes 3-6 months). Running out of runway is the #2 cause of startup failure (29%). Extend runway by: Reducing burn rate, increasing revenue, raising capital before desperate.
Key Startup Runway Takeaways
- Runway = Cash balance ÷ Monthly burn rate (in months)
- Target runway: 12-24 months recommended, 18 months ideal
- Start fundraising at: 6-9 months remaining runway (process takes 3-6 months)
- 29% of startups fail due to running out of cash
- Extend runway: Cut costs, increase revenue, raise bridge funding
- Track weekly: Runway is most critical startup metric after PMF
Startup Runway Statistics
12-24 mo
recommended runway
6-9 mo
start fundraising threshold
3-6 mo
fundraising process duration
29%
of startups die from running out of cash
Expert Tips
Track runway weekly
Runway changes faster than you think - don't get surprised
Start fundraising at 6-9 months
Fundraising takes 3-6 months - don't wait until desperate
Cut costs before it's critical
Extend runway proactively, not reactively
Revenue is the best runway extension
Each dollar of revenue is worth more than a dollar raised
Recommended Tools & Resources
Mercury
Startup banking with runway tracking