If you’re a founder raising capital, you know investors demand financial models. But most startup models miss the mark — and it can cost you a term sheet.

The 5 Most Common Mistakes Founders Make

1. Top-Down Revenue Forecasts
   “I’ll capture 1% of a $10B market” is not a model. Investors want bottom-up drivers: pricing, customer acquisition, churn, and retention.

2. Static Spreadsheets
   Pitch meetings often derail because founders can’t answer, “What if churn increases?” If you can’t flex assumptions live, confidence erodes.

3. Unrealistic Margins
   Early-stage founders often show SaaS-like gross margins from day one. Savvy investors know it takes years to get there.

4. Lack of Cash Flow Visibility
   Revenue projections mean little without a clear picture of burn rate and runway.

5. No Audit Trail
   If an investor can’t see where your assumptions come from, they’ll assume the worst.

What an Investor-Ready Model Looks Like

A strong model has three characteristics:

• Dynamic: Able to flex key drivers in real time.

• Grounded: Built from realistic bottom-up assumptions.

• Transparent: Clear lineage of inputs and outputs.

How Founders Can Get There Faster

Traditionally, founders paid bankers or consultants tens of thousands to build professional models. But that’s changing. With AI-native finance platforms, founders can:

• Describe their business in plain English → receive a 3-statement model in minutes.

• Upload historicals from QuickBooks, Stripe, or Excel → auto-populate actuals.

• Stress-test scenarios live with investors.

Zephea: A Founder’s Secret Weapon

Zephea was built to make investor-ready modeling accessible:

• Wall Street-grade rigor without the Wall Street price tag.

• Live sensitivity analysis to answer investor questions in real time.

• Audit-ready lineage so every assumption is credible.

For founders, the financial model is more than a spreadsheet — it’s a story. Zephea helps you tell that story with clarity, credibility, and confidence.