Where’s your money actually going?

Most founders talk about “burn”,

But that one number hides a lot.

If you want to be more strategic with cash, start breaking your spending into three categories:

💰 Earners are the parts of the business that directly drive revenue.

Salespeople, performance marketing, the product your customers are paying for.

If something is generating dollars, it deserves your dollars.

These are the things you should be feeding.

🔥 Burners keep the lights on.

Rent, software, legal, insurance, G&A.

None of it drives revenue directly, but without it, the machine stops.

The instinct is to cut these to the bone,

(Especially when cash is tight),

But if you go too far, you can create risk, erode morale, or bottleneck your own growth.

These need to be managed, but not starved.

🎯 Bets are the forward-looking investments.

The ones that might pay off.

A new hire. A product line. A rebrand. A new channel or customer segment.

Some bets will fly, many will flop,

But without them, you can't grow fast.

The key is to make sure your bets are time-bound, clear in scope, and sized right for your stage.

Once you start labeling expenses this way, you see things differently.

A $20k per month line item stops being just “burn” and becomes an active decision.

Are we investing in an earner, a necessary burner, or a bet we believe in?

It’s not about cutting spend;

It’s about knowing what kind of spend it is,

And owning that choice.

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