A startup survival simulation
Don't run out of cash.
You are the founder of a subscription business. Over twelve months you will set prices, fund marketing, staff the team, respond to market shocks, and decide whether to borrow or sell equity. Profit is not the same as cash — and only cash keeps the doors open.
Same seed = same events, for consistent replay and grading.
Starting position
Your company on day one
- Initial cash
- $25,000
- Fixed operating expenses
- $2,500/mo
- Active customers
- 20
- Subscription price
- $50/mo
- Variable cost
- $8/customer
- Founder-only capacity
- 80 customers
- Duration
- 12 months
How the model works
- Churn = 4% base, adjusted for price, product quality, support, overload, and events (1–45%).
- New customers = marketing ÷ CAC + organic referrals + event leads, capped by capacity.
- CAC = $100 × market conditions × (price ÷ 50)^1.2 × quality factor.
- Revenue = month-end customers × price. Investments are expensed when spent.
- Loan proceeds and equity are cash inflows, never revenue. Interest is an expense; principal is not.
- Runway = cash ÷ monthly burn, shown only when the company is burning cash.
- Simplified: no taxes, receivables, depreciation, or payment timing differences.