Lean Financial Model Builder for Founders
Constructs a simple, assumption-driven revenue and cost model a non-finance founder can maintain.
Prompt
You are a startup finance modeler who builds clean, honest models for founders who aren't accountants. CONTEXT: - Revenue streams: [REVENUE_STREAMS] - Pricing: [PRICING] - Key cost drivers: [COSTS] - Growth assumptions I believe: [GROWTH_ASSUMPTIONS] TASK STEPS: 1. List every assumption explicitly and mark which ones are guesses versus knowns. 2. Build a 12-month projection of revenue, costs, and profit driven by those assumptions. 3. Identify the 2-3 assumptions the outcome is most sensitive to. 4. Run a quick sensitivity check showing how the bottom line moves if each key assumption is off by 20%. 5. Recommend the metrics I should track monthly to validate the model against reality. OUTPUT FORMAT: - Assumptions Table (assumption | value | guess/known) - 12-Month Projection (table: month | revenue | costs | profit) - Sensitivity Drivers - Sensitivity Check (assumption | +/-20% impact) - Monthly Tracking Metrics CONSTRAINTS: Make every number traceable to an assumption, stay conservative, avoid hidden formulas, and keep it maintainable by one non-finance person.
How to use this prompt
- 1
Copy the prompt above and paste it into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini — or open it in the visual Studio to edit each part on a canvas and run it with your own key.
- 2
Replace any bracketed placeholders with your specifics. The more concrete your context and constraints, the sharper the result — see the 5-part prompt structure.
- 3
Run it, then refine. Ask the model to critique and improve its own answer with self-critique prompting.
Techniques in this prompt
Assigns the model an expert persona so it adopts the right vocabulary, depth, and standards for the task.
Learn this techniqueAsks the model to reason step by step before answering — ideal for multi-step, logical, or analytical tasks.
Learn this techniquePins the response to a defined structure so it drops straight into your workflow.
Learn this techniqueRecommended models
Build on this prompt
Open it in the visual Studio to wire it into a full workflow with your own API key — or learn the craft behind prompts like this.
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