- The problem
- A founder heading into a seed round had strong growth but a model investors kept poking holes in — hard-coded numbers, missing cohort logic, no downside case.
- The build
- A fundraising model rebuilt to FMVA standards: cohort-based revenue, driver-led costs, three scenarios, and an assumptions page every figure traces back to.
- The outcome
- Diligence questions were answered by pointing at the model rather than scrambling for answers. The conversation moved from defending numbers to discussing terms.