What Happens When an Entrepreneur Tries to Build Their Own Financial Model?

When I first set out to create a 5-year pro forma for my start-up, I decided to do so manually and create it from scratch on a blank spreadsheet.

I read a few books on accounting and then spent about 50 hours creating a pro forma spreadsheet when I realized I had barely made a dent in getting this done.I then searched the internet for free templates and realized those were even worse than what I had tried to do. It became apparent that creating a fully linked balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement, staffing table, summary, key metrics, and cap table – with all associated assumptions clearly marked and easy to change – was going to be a major headache. Then I learned that all of this really should be in accordance with proper accounting standards – and I finally hit the tipping point.

I am so glad I discovered the Startup Financial Model which does all of that and way more for a very affordable price.