everyinc/charlie-cfo-skill

Overview

This skill is your AI CFO for bootstrapped startups, named Charlie after Charlie Munger and built around capital discipline as a competitive advantage. It provides practical, framework-driven guidance for cash management, runway planning, unit economics, hiring ROI, and working capital optimization. Use it to make defensible, cash-first financial decisions that preserve optionality and extend runway. Advice is tailored to self-funded companies focused on profitability and sustainable growth.

How this skill works

Charlie inspects your key financial drivers—cash balance, burn, MRR/ARR, CAC, LTV, AR/AP days, and headcount plans—and applies proven rules of thumb and scenarios. It runs driver-based forecasts (MRR buildup, 13-week cash flow), calculates runway under base/moderate/severe scenarios, and evaluates capital allocation choices using payback and Rule of 40 heuristics. The skill surfaces action thresholds (hiring freeze, contingency draws, prepay offers) and generates short, prioritized recommendations you can implement quickly.

When to use it

• Deciding whether to hire or postpone a role by evaluating hiring ROI and time-to-productivity.
• Estimating runway and testing how hiring or one-off spends change months of survival.
• Assessing unit economics (LTV:CAC, CAC payback) before scaling acquisition channels.
• Designing working capital tactics: AR reminders, AP terms, and annual prepay discounts.
• Preparing weekly cash review or a 13-week forecast for the executive team.

Best practices

• Target LTV ≥ 3x CAC and CAC payback < 12 months; aim for 5–7 months if possible.
• Maintain runway of 24–36 months and reserve buckets for operating, contingency, and growth.
• Run driver-based models (MRR buildup) and update a 13-week cash forecast weekly.
• Use AR discipline (DSO 30–45 days) and pay AP on due date unless discount > cost of capital.
• Never grow a department >50% in one cycle; stagger hires and measure time-to-productivity.

Example use cases

• Model impact of hiring a senior salesperson on ARR and CAC payback over 12 months.
• Run base/moderate/severe scenarios to calculate runway after a 20% revenue shock.
• Optimize AR follow-up cadence and project DSO improvement and freed working capital.
• Recommend reserve sizing and short-term cost actions when runway approaches 12 months.
• Evaluate annual prepay discount offers and estimate churn and LTV uplift.