A financial model for investors, with the downside built in
The model behind your pitch deck has one job: to show an investor that the numbers in the deck come from assumptions you understand and can defend. That means a bottom-up revenue build, unit economics that come from the same drivers, a hiring plan, three statements that agree, runway, and a downside case. StartupModel builds that model in Excel from your own numbers, with a low / base / high scenario switch and a Checks sheet. Full costs $349.
This page covers what investors check, and what our model gives you.
What investors actually check
1. A bottom-up revenue build
Investors discount top-down maths ("1% of a large market"). They want to see revenue built from the things you control and can measure:
- Software: customers from acquisition and churn, MRR per customer, expansion. See the SaaS model.
- E-commerce: visits × conversion, paid orders from ads budget ÷ CAC, average order value, repeat orders. See the e-commerce model.
- Services: billable people × utilisation × rate. See the services model.
2. Unit economics from the same drivers
CAC, LTV, payback and contribution should be calculated from the numbers that drive revenue and cost, not typed in separately. If an investor changes churn and LTV doesn't move, the model loses credibility. In our SaaS model, blended CAC, LTV, LTV ÷ CAC and CAC payback are live formulas on the model's own drivers.
3. Runway and the use of the round
How many months the money lasts, in each scenario. In the SaaS model, net burn per month and runway in months are reported every year, and the round appears as equity raised in the first period, so you can see exactly when cash runs low.
4. A hiring plan
Payroll is usually the largest cost of an early company. Investors want roles, start dates and salaries, plus payroll taxes and benefits, not headcount as a percentage of revenue. Every Full model has a headcount sheet built that way.
5. Three statements that agree
A P&L alone isn't enough for a serious investor. They expect a cash flow statement and a balance sheet that balance in every period. The Checks sheet in every Full model tests that with live formulas.
6. A downside case
Every investor will ask "and if growth is half the plan?" A model with one switch for low, base and high answers that in the meeting. In ours, the low case is ordered the conservative way for every driver: lower growth and conversion, higher churn, CAC and costs. The Checks sheet verifies that ordering, so a "downside" can't quietly improve your costs.
Where the deck numbers come from
A deck usually shows a few lines per year: revenue, gross margin, EBITDA or net burn, headcount, cash. In our Full model the Dashboard and the annual P&L, cash flow and balance sheet already summarise those by year, by scenario. Copy the base case into the deck, keep the low case ready for questions, and send the Excel file to anyone who asks for the model.
What you get
Full — $349
- Dashboard with the low / base / high selector and template metrics
- Inputs sheet: every assumption in its own labelled cell, with low, base and high values
- Monthly (or annual) detail for 1, 3 or 5 years
- Annual P&L, cash flow statement and balance sheet
- Headcount plan by role
- Checks sheet
Before release, every scenario and year is recomputed independently in plain Python and must match the workbook within $1, and the Checks sheet must show no FAIL. An investor's analyst can open that sheet and see the result.
Light — $149: Inputs, P&L and metrics with the scenario switch and Checks sheet: useful to test the plan before you build the full pack. Upgrade later by paying the difference.
Sample
Download the sample SaaS model (.xlsx). Start on the Dashboard, switch to the low case, and look at runway.
Common mistakes in investor models
- Hockey stick without drivers. Growth that comes from a typed percentage rather than from customers, traffic or people.
- Unit economics on a separate tab, disconnected from the P&L.
- No cash flow, so runway is a guess.
- Optimistic downside. A low case where costs fall faster than revenue.
- Five years of monthly detail nobody reads. Monthly for the period the round covers; annual after that is usually enough.
How long should the forecast be?
It depends on the round and the investor. A practical approach is monthly detail for the period the round should fund, then annual years after that. The model supports 1, 3 or 5 years in monthly or annual detail; choose what your investors ask for.
Questions
Does it include a cap table or valuation? No. The model covers operations, cash and the three statements. Equity raised is an input; ownership and valuation are outside its scope.
Can I use it for a non-software startup? Yes. The questionnaire offers the business types we have templates for, including e-commerce/retail, professional services and cafés/restaurants, and tells you if none fits.
What if the model doesn't fit my business? Write to us within 7 days and we refund the full amount.
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