Answer 7 structured questions. Get a financial model, contradiction analysis, and assumption ledger — built with a CFO's thinking, not a consultant's template.
✓Deterministic 12-month cash model — no LLM hallucinations in the numbers
✓Contradiction detection built from real CFO experience reviewing founder plans
✓Assumption ledger with 14-day validation tests for each key risk
✓Export to Excel, Gamma deck prompt, and shareable link — all free
✓Your data is not stored by this tool. AI analysis is processed via Anthropic's API and hosted on Vercel — see the T&C for full details.
Terms of Use
This tool is provided free of charge for informational and planning purposes only. By using it, you acknowledge and agree to the following:
No professional advice. The outputs generated by this tool do not constitute financial, legal, investment, or business advice. They are illustrative projections based solely on the inputs you provide.
No liability. Shay Brin and the Founder Decision Engine accept no responsibility or liability for any business decisions, financial outcomes, or losses arising from the use of this tool or its outputs.
Data handling. All financial inputs, projections, and business details you enter are processed locally in your browser. No data is stored, logged, or retained by this tool or its operator. When you request AI-generated analysis, your inputs are transmitted to Anthropic's API solely to generate your results. Anthropic does not use API inputs to train its models by default. Your data also transits Vercel's infrastructure as the API proxy layer. Neither Vercel nor Anthropic retain your business data. For full details see Anthropic's API privacy policy at anthropic.com and Vercel's privacy policy at vercel.com.
No guarantees. Financial projections are based on your inputs and are inherently uncertain. Past patterns referenced in contradiction detection are illustrative, not predictive.
Use at your own risk. You are solely responsible for verifying any outputs and for all decisions you make based on them. Always consult qualified professionals before making significant business or financial decisions.
Built by Shay Brin — former CFO, AI builder, long-distance runner
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Founder Decision Engine
Step 1 of 7
by Shay Brin
✓ Saved to your computer
Gate 01 — Foundation
What are you building?
Define your startup identity and the one concrete thing you need to achieve in the next 12 months.
First paying customers
ARR milestone
Seed fundraising
Product validation
Please fill in all required fields.
Gate 02 — Positioning
Who buys this, and why?
Vague customer definitions are the most common early-stage mistake. Be specific.
Manual process
Existing competitor
Not solved
Other
AI Market Intelligence
Please fill in all required fields.
Gate 03 — GTM
How do you get to revenue?
Your GTM motion determines your burn, hiring plan, and time to first dollar. This is where most plans break.
Direct sales
Self-serve
Channel / Reseller
Partnerships
Marketplace
AI GTM Analysis
Please fill in all required fields.
Gate 04 — Build Plan
Who builds this and how?
Investors fund execution, not ideas.
Solo founder
Co-founder team
Contractors
Hired team
Please fill in all required fields.
Gate 05A — Show Me the Numbers
Revenue model.
Define your pricing and customer ramp. The table below updates in real time as you type.
Customer & Revenue Ramp Preview
Please fill in all required fields.
Gate 05B — Show Me the Numbers
Team & expenses.
Add every role and cost line. Each one has a start month so the model knows when it hits your burn.
Team
Role
Count
Salary/mo ($)
Start mo
Operating Expenses
Expense
Per month ($)
Start mo
Monthly Cost Summary
Please fill in all required fields.
Gate 06 — Funding
What is your funding plan?
Starting capital and any planned raise. This closes the cash model.
Optional. Helps the AI tailor the assumption ledger to your raise context.
Sanity Check
Please fill in starting cash.
Building your founder plan...
⬡ Running financial model
⬡ Detecting contradictions
⬡ Generating one-pager
⬡ Building assumption ledger
🔗
CFO Verdict
01 — Founder One Pager
02 — 12-Month Financial Plan
03 — Red Flags & Contradictions
04 — Assumption Ledger
05 — Talk to Shay
Need help with your plan? If you want a real CFO to look at your numbers, challenge your assumptions, or help you prepare for a raise — send me a message. I work with early-stage founders on a fractional basis.
✓ Message sent. I will get back to you within 48 hours.
SB
Shay Brin
Former CFO · AI Builder · Writing about finance, startups & AI