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▸ SOP · Scenarios · Runway Zero

Runway Zero for a Founder Burning Seed

Solo technical founder, two ledgers, one life — company runway vs personal runway.

Compute both runways separately. Whichever hits zero first is the real clock.

Subject: solo technical founder, 14 months post-incorporation. Company: $40,000 outstanding cofounder loan, $9,000/mo burn (AWS $1,600, contractor $5,500, tooling $900, legal/admin $1,000). MRR trajectory: meaningful revenue projected in 10 months. Personal: $8,000 savings, $2,400/mo burn. Founder salary: zero. Runway reading: runway unset.

▸ Deterministic Formula
company_runway = loan_balance / company_burn
personal_runway = savings / personal_burn
real_runway = min(company_runway, personal_runway)
if founder_salary > 0:
  company_burn += founder_salary
  personal_burn -= founder_salary
▸ Logical Gates
  1. Separate company ledger from personal ledger. No netting.
  2. Compute company_runway and personal_runway independently.
  3. real_runway = min of the two. That is the clock.
  4. At runway runway unset, compare to MRR target date. Gap = amount of bridge or cut required.
  5. If gap > 3 months and no bridge path, run the shutdown math before month 2.

Quick answer

Compute both runways separately. Whichever hits zero first is the real clock.

What you are trying to do
Solo technical founder, two ledgers, one life — company runway vs personal runway.
Best next step
Runway Zero
Limit to remember
Treat this as a practical aid for the task, not a replacement for professional judgment.

▸ Key Specs

  • ▸ Two ledgers, two runways. A healthy company runway with a dying personal runway is still game-over.
  • ▸ Personal runway dies first in nearly every solo-founder timeline. The MRR date does not care.
  • ▸ Current reading: runway unset — this is personal, not company. Company is the separate sheet.
  • ▸ Every month of contractor spend directly trades against founder salary capacity. Price the trade.
  • ▸ Raising a bridge or pausing the contractor are not equivalent — the bridge preserves momentum, the pause preserves personal runway.

▸ Worked Examples

  • Company runway
    Loan balance $40,000. Burn $9,000/mo. Runway = 40000 / 9000 = 4.44 months. MRR target is 10 months out. Gap: 5.6 months of funding that does not exist yet.
  • Personal runway
    Savings $8,000. Personal burn $2,400/mo. Runway = 8000 / 2400 = 3.33 months. Personal hits zero a month before the company does, at month 3.3.
  • Pause-contractor reallocation
    Pause $5,500/mo contractor. Company burn drops to $3,500/mo. Company runway extends to 40000 / 3500 = 11.4 months — clears the MRR target. Founder moves contractor workload onto self. Personal runway still 3.3 months unless founder draws $2,400/mo salary from remaining loan balance: after 3 months of salary ($7,200), loan remaining = $32,800, company burn $3,500 + $2,400 salary = $5,900/mo, company runway from there = 32800 / 5900 = 5.6 months. Total horizon = 3 + 5.6 = 8.6 months. Still short of MRR by ~1.4 months.

When to use which tool

▸ Operational Thresholds
  • CYAN · STABLE — Both runways above 6 months — execute, do not re-optimize burn weekly.
  • GOLD · GUARDED — Either runway 3–6 months — cut the largest variable cost, draw minimum founder salary.
  • MAGENTA · CRITICAL — Either runway below 3 months — pause contractor, close bridge in 4 weeks, or plan shutdown.
▸ READ NEXT
Tech Debt Interest →
Price the tech debt accrued by pausing contractor work — pay-later always costs more.

Related

Frequently asked questions

› Should I take a part-time consulting gig to extend personal runway? Trust & accuracy

Yes if it adds 2+ months and costs less than 30% of weekly founder time. Below that ratio, the focus loss kills MRR timeline more than the cash saves personal runway.

› Is the cofounder loan real runway or phantom runway? Trust & accuracy

Real until loan terms force repayment. Check the note. If convertible-on-raise, it is runway; if demand-note on fixed date, subtract from runway on that date.

› When do I shut it down? How-to

When personal runway falls below 2 months AND no bridge is closable within 4 weeks. Below that combo, preserving personal cash beats preserving company optionality.

› How should I use this guide with a Kefiw tool? How-to

Use the guide as the plan and the linked Kefiw tool as the check. Read the steps first, try the move manually, then use the tool to compare outputs, catch edge cases, and decide whether the result actually fits your task.

› What mistake do tool guides help avoid? Troubleshooting

Tool guides help avoid using a utility mechanically without understanding what you are trying to accomplish. Most word, writing, and text utilities are fast, but speed can hide context mistakes. Know whether you are solving a puzzle, cleaning copy, drafting a line, or checking a rule.