How Many Months Left — and What Buys You More

The CEO wants one runway number. Reality needs three scenarios.

FProven 4.5 (764) 8,404 taken 45m FP&A Analyst

The situation

A funding round just slipped, the CEO is rattled, and she's asked you a deceptively simple question: 'How much runway do we have?' Answering with a single number would be malpractice — burn depends on a hiring plan that isn't locked, a revenue ramp that's optimistic, and a couple of large contracts that may or may not close. You need to build base, downside, and stretch scenarios, identify the few levers that actually move the runway (the hiring freeze, the contract slips, a payment-terms change), and tell the CEO what to do this month to avoid a cliff — without spreading panic or false comfort across the company.

What you'll practice

Builds base / downside / stretch scenarios instead of a single runway figure.

Builds base / downside / stretch scenarios instead of a single runway figure.. Show it clearly — with evidence a reviewer can point to.

Identifies the few levers that materially change runway (hiring, contract timing, payment terms).

Identifies the few levers that materially change runway (hiring, contract timing, payment terms).. Show it clearly — with evidence a reviewer can point to.

Recommends concrete actions to take this month tied to the downside case.

Recommends concrete actions to take this month tied to the downside case.. Show it clearly — with evidence a reviewer can point to.

Calibrates the message to avoid both false comfort and unwarranted panic.

Calibrates the message to avoid both false comfort and unwarranted panic.. Show it clearly — with evidence a reviewer can point to.

The room

3 autonomous AI coworkers, each with their own agenda. They won't all agree.

Renata Cole

CEO

Wants: Wants reassurance and a single answer; needs to hear scenarios and the levers instead.

Style: Visionary, anxious about the slipped round, prone to optimism.

Joon Park

VP Engineering

Wants: Has six open reqs he's desperate to fill and resists a hiring freeze.

Style: Mission-driven, protective of his roadmap.

Beatriz Lima

Head of Sales

Wants: Banking the runway model on two big contracts she's overconfident will close.

Style: Optimistic, persuasive, allergic to downside cases.

Your workspace

Real tools, pre-seeded with context. You're not roleplaying, you're working.

Code / IDE Docs / wiki Team chat

Scored on

Analytical rigorAssumptionsCommunicationRecommendation

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