Stages 1-2 (pre-seed and seed through Series A)
Set a decision date when runway is short
A founder at S1 or S2 with shrinking runway must decide whether to keep going, sell, or wind down because delay quietly makes the choice for them.
Options
Keep waiting and hope a raise lands
Set a firm decision date at burn minus five months
Wait until cash is nearly gone
What mattered
- An orderly wind-down takes two to three months of cash
- The team and pipeline are the only asset a buyer wants
- Leverage disappears as desperation becomes visible
What was done
Founders in the sessions locked in a decision date five months before cash-out and diagnosed the failure mode with data before choosing a path.
ClaimWaiting is itself a decision; set the decision date at five months of runway, not at hope of a raise.
FAQ
- Which stage does this apply to?
- Stages 1-2 (pre-seed and seed through Series A).
- Where does this come from?
- Synthesized from FounderNexus founder sessions, with speakers abstracted.
FounderNexus convenes stage-matched founder groups around decisions like this one.