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A startup financial model template is more than just a spreadsheet—it's a crucial tool for growth, investor pitches, and strategic decision-making. Not all startups are the same, and neither are their financial models. A simple P&L forecast isn’t enough; to create accurate financial projections, startups must consider their unique revenue streams, cost structures, and scalability potential. Whether you're building a mobile app, SaaS product, or marketplace, having a tailored financial model template for startups ensures realistic forecasts, helping you secure funding and drive sustainable growth. This guide explores how to customize financial models to fit your business and maximize success.

Building a financial model for a marketplace startup is uniquely complex, as it must account for the dynamics between sellers and buyers. Marketplaces thrive by balancing these two sides while generating value for both. A comprehensive financial model should include strategies for acquiring both sellers and buyers, as well as calculations for the most common revenue streams. In this article, we’ll guide you step by step on how to calculate the revenue and costs of a marketplace startup and show you how to create a dynamic financial model in Excel or Google Sheets.

The car rental business remains in demand even in times of economic instability. Short-term car rentals are popular among tourists, business professionals, and city dwellers, making this segment both profitable and flexible. To ensure steady growth and minimize risks, it's crucial to build a solid financial model. In this article, we’ll walk you through how to account for all key factors: from initial investments and financing to operational costs and staffing and how to accurately forecast revenue and profits. By following our step-by-step guide, you'll be able to effectively manage your cash flow and build an efficient business.

For startups aiming to attract investor attention, a pitch deck must do more than just describe a product. It should illustrate a compelling and viable business opportunity. Three elements are fundamental to conveying this: Market Size, Business Model, and Revenue Projections. Together, these slides show the size of the opportunity, the path to monetization, and the potential commercial result. Let’s dive into the classic structure of each slide, how they work together, and the underlying preparation required to build them.

For SaaS founders, understanding unit economics is vital for ensuring profitable growth and efficient scaling. This is a “must-have” for both business decisions and fundraising. SaaS unit economics differs across acquisition channels and includes specific marketing and sales costs depending on the model. Let’s dive into the details of LTV and CAC calculation and see how unit economics influences the overall financial model of a business.

The question of equity distribution in business is a perennial source of drama, both on the silver screen and in real life. How does one maintain a controlling stake for founders? What proportion is fair to allocate to investors when seeking funding? How much should be set aside for employee stock options? To address these questions in a businesslike manner and preempt surprises, transparent calculation rules are applied. These, together with a comprehensive list of all company stakeholders, are documented in a company’s capitalization table.

A beauty salon is a business that can generate stable profits and provide satisfaction through creating a space for beauty and health. In today's world, both women and men strive to look good and regularly avail themselves of hair, face, and body care services. When opening a beauty salon from scratch, it's important to create offerings and services that are in demand by your target audience. The calculation of a beauty salon business plan will vary for different formats. Let's break down step-by-step how to estimate the number of clients and revenue, and learn to create a dynamic financial model in Excel / Google Sheets.

For many, opening a coffee shop is almost as much of a business dream as owning a bar. There's a steady demand, relatively low startup costs, and the joy of creating a cozy space. When opening a coffee shop from scratch, it's important to develop offerings and services that cater to your target audience. The calculation of a coffee shop's business plan will vary for different formats. Let's break down step by step how to calculate the number of customers and revenue for each scenario, and learn to create a dynamic financial model in Excel / Google Sheets.

Nowadays selling goods online has become a business with a low entry barrier. Launching online sales can be done with minimal investments. The only decision left is to choose a business model for the start: either establish an online store from scratch or join existing marketplaces. In this article, we project the potential profit of your own online store. We guide you step by step on how to calculate the number of customers, revenue, and expenses for an online store, and teach you how to create a dynamic financial model in Excel/Google Sheets.

If you are developing a SaaS product for the B2B segment, relying solely on marketing for sales might not be feasible. The more complex and costly the product, the greater the involvement of the sales department. When constructing a financial model, it’s crucial to account for manager costs, a lengthy sales cycle, and reflect all of this in the Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) calculation. The primary sales approaches for a B2B SaaS product include self-service, inbound sales, and outbound sales. We’ll guide you step by step on forecasting the number of clients, revenue, and expenses for each scenario and teach you how to create a dynamic financial model in Excel/Google Sheets.

The Startup Chile accelerator is accepting applications for its new program cohort from November 2nd to November 28th. Projects from any industry and founders from any country are eligible to apply. Upon successful selection, participants can look forward to a two-year work visa for Chile, a free incubation program, and a grant ranging from $15,000 to $100,000 USD provided by the Chilean government. Startup Chile presents an opportunity to enter the Latin American market while enjoying European comforts and gaining valuable experience before approaching top North American investors and accelerators. In this article, we delve into the application requirements and peculiarities.

To turn a mobile app into a commercially successful product, it is essential to consider the choice of a monetization model from the very beginning. The primary options include subscription, in-app advertising, and in-app purchases. We will walk you through step by step on how to calculate the number of customers and revenue for each option and teach you to create a dynamic financial model in Excel or Google Sheets.

Often, revenue and customer forecasts in financial models for new businesses resemble dreams more than reality. Ambitious growth percentages are incorporated, and beautiful exponential graphs are drawn, but when confronted with reality, the project ends up going bankrupt. In this article, we will delve into how to forecast the revenues of a new company based on the project’s roadmap and direct marketing and sales expenses. We will step by step create a flexible financial model in Google Sheets that will demonstrate the path to the coveted breakeven point and assist in convincing investors to fund your project.