Financial Planning for Growth
Summary: Companies can have a compelling idea and a clear plan for where they want to go, but still more than 2/3 fail to make it after just 2 years. Often, they run out of capital. Financial forecasts provide a roadmap for how to manage expansion and reach business goals. They help founders to understand what steps they need to take, which variables move the profit needle, how much cash they will need and which are the most funding options – all looking out for a 3+ year time horizon.
About This Mentor: Kathleen Baxley spent 8 years in corporate business development, 15 years as a Wall St. analyst, founded two startups, and completed a Stanford MBA. Having seen financial strategy through multiple lenses, Kathleen joins the Small Business Accelerator to talk through how to build robust future-years projections in the face of incomplete information, monitor and manage financial health metrics, and identify problems early, while they are still fixable.
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