Collection

Docs

Documentation for all of the models. Start with Getting Started for a guide to how to use the models.

Cap Tables Cohorts Core Concepts Deprecated Financial Reports Forecast Management Analysis Managment Company Revenue Modeling Revenues Runway Tool Standard Model Starter Model Venture Capital

The Breakdown sheet goes beyond financial analysis to provide additional management analysis on the performance of the business, by automatically creating a profit and loss statement with each user-defined business segment in its own column.

How to use the prebuilt Budget sheet to do variance comparisons between the forecast and actual results.

Modeling Capital Budgeting

How to budget for invested capital and fees in the venture fund models

Modeling Capital Deployment

How to budget for deploying capital into investments in the venture fund models

A quick note on the Changelog sheet in each model.

Modeling Cohorts

Building a cohort-based model with a demonstration in spreadsheets and Causal

Model Formatting

Here's how I use formatting to identify and denote the difference between assumptions and calculations in the models.

Modeling Convertibles

How to model convertible notes, premoney SAFEs, and postmoney SAFEs in the Cap Table and Exit Waterfall Tool

Forecasting Drivers

How to use the prebuilt Forecasting Drivers to easily create dynamic forecasts.

Modeling Equity Rounds

How to model new equity rounds in the Cap Table and Exit Waterfall Tool

Setting Timescales

By default, the models are built by month for either 3 or 5 years. Here's how to extend them if you need to model more periods.

The Forecast sheet is the core sheet for entering expenses, creating a hiring plan, reporting revenues and billings, fundraising, and all the root calculations. Here's an explainer on how it works.

Get Started is the core input sheet for all Foresight Models. Here's how it works.

Getting Started

How to get started with a Foresight Model

How to use the Hiring Plan and Forecast sheets to detail new hires, employees, and a staffing plan, including salaries, benefits, taxes, bonuses, commissions, and other expenses.

Using Actual Financials

How the models uses historical financials to create budget variances and rolling forecasts.

Reviewing a Model

Key things to look for when you're reviewing your model.

The Key Reports sheet consists of prebuilt charts for burn, runway, cash, sources and uses, and many other key metrics.

Budgeting the Management Company of a Venture Capital Fund

How to budget the revenues and expenses for the management company of a fund

Management Fee Recycling

What management fee recycling means, how it works, and common misconceptions.

Building a Manual Portfolio Model

How to create a specific investment portfolio construction in the venture fund models

Modeling Reserves and Followons

How to model reserves and followons in the venture fund models

Modeling Option Pools

How to model the creation and changes in option pools in the Cap Table and Exit Waterfall Tool

Modeling Portfolio Construction

How to model portfolio construction in the venture fund models

Modeling Proceeds and Distributions

How to model proceeds, distributions, and carried interest waterfall in the venture fund models

Modeling Residual Value and Changes in Invested Capital

How to model unrealized gains and losses, residual value, changes in invested capital in the venture fund models

The default revenue model in the Standard Financial Model is prebuilt to handle a wide variety of business models. Here's an explainer on how it works.

How to analyze scenarios using scenario tables and simulation add-ons.

A key part of creating a fundraising ask is understanding and communicating how the money will be raised. A sources and uses chart is a fairly standard way to communicate it, and a summary of the key expenses helps to tell the full story. Here's how I do it.

The Statements sheet contains the Income Statement, Balance Sheet, and Statement of Cash Flows.

The Summary sheet is the first place to view to communicate the key insights about the business to the intended audience of the model.

Understanding Taxes

How Foresight's models calculate taxes, and considerations in handling your actual tax responsibilities.

Tracking an Angel Investment Portfolio

How to model reserves and followons in the venture fund models

How to use the Unit Economics sheet to model and communicate margins, breakeven, and lifetime value on a per-unit basis.

Valuing early-stage companies can be more of an art than a science. Here I'll explain the basics behind discounted cash flow (DCF) and multiple-based valuation, and detail how they are implemented in Foresight's models.

Modeling Exit Waterfalls

How to model exit waterfalls in the Cap Table and Exit Waterfall Tool

How to fix a blank revenue forecast

tl;dr, Check your acquisitions and conversions.

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