A financial modeling
course for startup founders

A LIVE 1-week course to create investor-proof projections,
estimate your fundraising needs,
and track the core KPIs for any kind of startup
$199
Enroll today

April 15th - April 19th, 2024
Live Q&A sessions with Caya at 1:00pm ET

The financial modeling course had a lot of great information and was very organized with all of the resources they provided! I didn't get a chance to attend all of the calls, but glad I have the repository to look back on. They are definitely passionate about what they do.
Estrella Quiroz
The session was informative. The financial model sheets available with the Slidebean account are a bit daunting on their own - having this walkthrough was great, as well as the practical applications of the data and ability to ask specific questions on modeling and different scenarios.
Tim Chalk

When you're done, you'll be able to...

design and connect a financial model for any type of startup
build, connect, and edit any financial spreadsheet
test different scenarios, and understand their outcomes
understand the KPIs that affect your business, and
Join our next cohort

April 15th - April 19th, 2024

Still not sure?

Download a sample financial model built by our team

Download Free

Financial Course Outline

(Optional) Day 0: Leveling up our spreadsheet skills

This module is designed as a leveling course for founders and entrepreneurs who are new to spreadsheet tools like Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets. It starts with the basic building blocks of formula-building, and advances into reference functions like INDEX+MATCH.

We focus on the tools that you'll need to connect most financial models.

Agenda:

  • Setting up a basic spreadsheet: creating and formatting a worksheet, entering data
  • Common math functions (e.g. SUM, AVERAGE, MAX, MIN)
  • Date and time functions (e.g. TODAY, NETWORKDAYS)
  • Using lookup and reference functions (e.g. VLOOKUP, INDEX, MATCH)
  • Using logical functions (e.g. IF, AND, OR)
  • Collaborating with others and using version control
  • Formatting and presentation tips
  • Sorting and filtering data
  • Consolidating data from multiple worksheets

Day 1: Understanding Drivers

Driver-based modeling is the single most important lesson we will be teaching in this course. This module is the key to unlocking your understanding of financial models and will allow you to dissect and break down any type of business into parts that you can model on a spreadsheet. 

Curriculum:

  • What is driver-based modeling, and why is it important for startups?
  • Common direct and indirect drivers of startup growth
  • The KPIs to convert drivers into revenue
  • Simple model maps: SaaS, eCommerce, and Traffic-based business models
  • Adding conversion funnels
  • Advanced model maps: Marketplaces and virality
  • Converting maps into variables
  • Homework assignment before our Live Session

Day 2: Let’s build- Part 1

Now that we understand the basics of how financial models work, we’ll get to building our first formulas to connect the maps that we’ve been working on. 

Curriculum:

  • Setting up the layout: inputs vs outcome spreadsheets
  • Standardizing our format: variables vs formula results
  • Our first formula: a marketing budget
  • Scaling linearly vs exponentially
  • Defining launch dates
  • Our first complete map: from driver to costs

Day 3: A canvas on steroids

We’ve built our first financial model, but we need a better canvas to work on if we want to scale the spreadsheet. We’ll walk you through the (free) template our team built, and that over 20,000 startups have used as a starting point.

Curriculum:

  • The basics: SG&A, COGS and Revenue
  • Advanced sheets: CAPEX
  • Understanding VAT and Sales Taxes vs Income Taxes
  • Managing headcount and staff scaling
  • Advanced sheets: Cap Table

Day 4: Let's build- Part 2

With a superpowered canvas to work from, we now move into connecting a complete model map inside an existing financial model template. 

Curriculum:

  • [SaaS] Connecting churn and estimating MRR
  • [Marketplaces] Building a Marketplace Financial Model with buyers and sellers
  • [eCommerce] Creating a simple inventory tracker
  • Projecting virality (and its dangers)
  • Tracking KPIs
  • Building a simple dashboard with charts

Day 5: Scenarios and Projections

At this point we have a fully functional financial model we can use to estimate anything we want. It’s now time to put it to good use to answer the questions a founder needs to solve before pitching investors.

Curriculum:

  • Building a dropdown scenario picker
  • Determining if the business is scalable (and/or venture-backable)
  • Budgeting an investment round: expenses and milestones
  • Building a simple dashboard with charts and KPIs

The financial modeling course for startup founders

1 Pre-Recorded session & 1 LIVE session every day
Hosted by Caya, our company CEO
5 different pre-built financial templates
Lifetime access to course resources
Detailed knowledge base access
$199
Enroll today

April 15th - April 19th, 2024
Live Q&A sessions with Caya at 1:00pm ET
Fully refundable before start date

Join our next cohort

April 15th - April 19th, 2024
Live Q&A sessions with Caya at 1:00pm ET

Enroll today

FAQ

Why are there two lessons per day?

What if I can't attend one/any of the classes?

Do I need to know advanced Excel/Sheets for this?

What exactly am I getting for the price?

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