The Startup Money Playbook: From Zero to Funded - Finance for Everyone

By Amit Singh

Most people never learned money. Never learnt in schools perhaps. This book fixes that.

Whether you are a Class 8 student selling handmade crafts, a 25-year-old building your first startup, or a 40-year-old professional who has always felt lost around financial statements - The Startup Money Playbook was written for you.

This is not a textbook. It is a complete financial operating system - 28 chapters that take you from "what even is revenue?" to reading a term sheet, managing investor money, filing GST, and building a financial model that survives due diligence. Every concept is taught through one fictional startup - StudyAI, founded by 17-year-old Aryan Sharma from Jaipur - whose numbers are internally consistent from Chapter 1 to Chapter 28. By the end, you have watched a real business grow from ₹19,800 in Month 1 to a ₹75 lakh seed round and a Series A conversation.

What This Book CoversPart 1 - Money Basics: Revenue vs Profit vs Cash. The Time Value of Money. The three financial statements introduced together.Part 2 - Costing and Pricing: Fixed vs variable costs. Break-even analysis. Four pricing frameworks. Unit economics - CAC, LTV, Churn, and MRR.Part 3 - The Three Financial Statements: P&L, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow Statement - each in depth, then read together as an investor would.Part 4 - Runway, Burn and Survival: Burn rate. Cash flow forecasting. Warning signs. Working capital management.Part 5 - Raising Capital: Every funding type from bootstrapping to Series A. How valuations work. Cap tables and dilution. How to read a term sheet.Part 6 - After Funding: Budget vs actuals. Investor reporting. Loans and EMIs. GST, income tax, TDS, and compliance for Indian startups.Part 7 - Toolkit: 11 ready-to-use Excel templates including a Break-Even Calculator, Unit Economics Dashboard, Loan EMI Calculator, Cap Table Tracker, GST Tracker, and Fundraising Readiness Scorecard.Why This Book Is Different

Every chapter includes a real-world hook, plain-English explanation, exact formulas, three worked examples (small business → startup → large company), and a practical action step. The examples are India-native - GST, DPIIT, payment gateways, MSME, MUDRA, advance tax.

A Class 8 student and a Series A founder can read the same book and each find exactly what they need. The book includes reader paths for students, first-time founders, funded startups, working professionals, and educators.

What You Will Be Able to Do After ReadingRead any P&L, Balance Sheet, or Cash Flow StatementCalculate break-even, LTV: CAC, and free cash flow for any businessBuild a three-year financial model that survives investor scrutinyUnderstand cap table dilution before signing a term sheetManage GST, advance tax, and TDS without expensive surprisesKnow your runway to the day - and what to do if it is running out

Revenue is vanity. Profit is sanity. Cash is reality. Now you will know all three.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0GW8H6JQJ
• ISBN13: 9798255080526
• Release Date: April 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 394 Pages
• Weight: 2.01 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 8.5" x 11.0"