After laying the groundwork with your startup’s core values and goals, it’s time to craft a detailed financial blueprint that aligns with your vision for growth over the next 18 to 24 months—emphasizing capital efficiency over growth to ensure that funding is deployed effectively.

Begin by envisioning where you want your startup to be in two years, covering metrics such as revenue targets, customer base size, strategic partnerships, and team expansion. If that’s where you will be in two years, set what goals you must achieve in the first year. Then, calculate the necessary expenditures to realize these goals.

Here’s a relevant excerpt from the Companyon Company Strategy Workshop to help you document your Strategic Themes:

Critical questions will emerge: What contribution to revenue can be expected from new customers? How does the cost of acquiring these customers balance with the lack of a specified budget for sales and marketing efforts?