It’s not the empty bank account that kills most startups.

It’s not the empty bank account that kills most startups, it’s the loss of founder conviction.

I’ve seen this pattern across 34 angel investments and almost 30 VC deals.

The math is brutal but simple:
– Startup with $500K runway, burning $27K/month = 18 months
– Startup with $2M runway, burning $115K/month = 18 months

Same runway. Different story.

The first founder knows every dollar matters. They’ll pivot, cut costs, find revenue. They’ll fight.

The second founder? They’re already mentally spent. When month 14 hits and growth isn’t happening, they start interviewing at Meta.

I’ve watched founders with 3 months of runway pull off miracles. Found product-market fit after a pivot. They’ve closed deals. Raised emergency rounds.

I’ve also watched founders with 18 months of runway quietly give up. Perfect pitch decks. Great team. Solid product. But the fire was gone.

Cash is just time.
What matters is what you do when time runs out.

The founders who survive aren’t the ones with the biggest war chest. They’re the ones who refuse to stop when the war chest is empty.

Running out of money is a math problem.
Giving up is a choice.

And in startups, only one of those is fatal.