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name: runway-planner description: "Turn burn and cash into a clear runway picture and a raise decision — months left, default-alive vs default-dead, and what to cut or change. Use when asked to calculate runway, model burn rate, decide when to raise, figure out if the company is default-alive, or plan a scenario with hiring/cuts. Produces the runway math, a default-alive verdict, and dated trigger points for raising or acting. Not financial advice."

Runway Planner Skill

Runway is the number that decides everything else. This skill turns cash and burn into months of runway, a default-alive/dead verdict (à la Paul Graham), and the dated triggers for when to raise or cut — so the founder isn't surprised. Not financial advice; confirm with your finance lead.

Working from a brief

Given partial numbers, do the full calculation anyway with labelled illustrative figures where needed. Show the arithmetic. Never leave it as "[calculate runway]."

Required Inputs

Ask for (if not already provided), else use clearly-labelled illustrative numbers:

• Cash in bank today
• Monthly net burn (gross burn minus revenue) and whether it's growing
• Revenue today and its growth rate (if any)
• Planned changes — hires, spend increases, or cuts being considered
• Context — when they last raised, what they're optimising for

Output Format

1. Runway today

• Net burn: $X/mo · Cash: $Y · Runway: Y ÷ X = N months (to ~[month/year])
• If burn is growing or revenue ramping, show a simple month-by-month projection, not just a flat divide.

2. Default-alive or default-dead?

On current growth and burn, will revenue cover costs before the money runs out? State the verdict and the gap.

3. Scenarios

Scenario	Net burn	Runway	Effect
Current
With planned hires
Lean (cuts)

4. Trigger points (dated)

• Start raising by: [date] — typically when ~6 months of runway remain (raising takes 3–6 months)
• Decision/cut point: [date] — if [milestone] isn't hit, what changes
• Out of cash: [date] — the hard floor

5. The one lever

The single highest-impact move (a cut, a price change, a growth push) and what it does to the runway date.

Quality Checks

• Runway math is shown, not just stated; accounts for growing burn / ramping revenue if relevant
• Gives a clear default-alive vs default-dead verdict
• Trigger dates work back from the 3–6 months a raise actually takes
• Includes the "not financial advice" disclaimer

Anti-Patterns

• Flat cash ÷ burn when burn is clearly growing
• Ignoring that raising takes months (planning to start at 2 months left)
• Vague advice ("extend runway") instead of a quantified lever and date
• Treating gross burn as net (ignoring revenue)

Example Trigger Phrases

• "Calculate runway."
• "Model burn rate."
• "Decide when to raise."
• "Figure out if the company is default-alive."
• "Plan a scenario with hiring/cuts."