How Startups Can Forecast Cash Runway When Milestones Change with Sandi Klemann

What happens when your startup’s milestones keep changing, and every change affects your cash runway and funding needs?

Sometimes the answer starts with building something better for your own clients.

In this episode, James Knapp speaks with Sandi Klemann, Founder and CEO of Fractional Finance Solutions, about leaving corporate finance, building a fractional CFO practice, and turning an Excel forecasting model into software. Sandi explains how startup milestones affect cash runway, funding needs, and scenario planning, along with the thinking behind Forcestra.

They also explore transparency in financial leadership, learning from failure, trusting your instincts, and anticipating business risks before they become urgent.

Sandi discusses:

• How an unexpected career comment helped reinforce her decision to build a business on her own terms
• Why early-stage companies need clear forecasts for cash runway, funding needs, and changing milestones
• How a complex Excel forecasting model eventually became an interactive financial software platform
• Why transparency, accountability, and solution-focused thinking can strengthen financial leadership
• How trusting your instincts and learning from failures can help you keep moving when others doubt an idea