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Startup Financial Model: 10 Business Models & DCF – Excel XLSX
Excel (XLSX)
BENEFITS OF THIS DOWNLOADABLE EXCEL DOCUMENT
- Produce an investor-ready 36-month forecast, DCF valuation and unit economics without building a model from scratch.
- Ship a balance sheet that ties to zero and formulas that survive a diligence team's scrutiny.
- Buy once and keep it for life, with every v1.x update included at no extra cost.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP EXCEL DESCRIPTION
Most startup templates are a profit and loss statement with a growth slider. Investors see through that in one scroll. This model is built the way diligence teams take models apart: a monthly 36-month engine, a balance sheet that actually balances, and a valuation tab that shows what your numbers imply, not what you hope.
Pick your business model from ten built-in options on a single Dashboard selector: Subscription, Freemium, Advertising, Affiliate, Pay per use, Service attach, Tiered pricing, Base plus premium modules, Marketplace (GMV times take rate), and Usage or consumption (AI metered, with in-account expansion). Flip between Base, Bull and Bear scenarios and the whole model reprices instantly.
What you get. A full three-statement model over 36 months: a monthly income statement, a balance sheet with a live balance check that ships in the file, and an indirect cash flow that ties to balance sheet cash. The income statement includes a headcount schedule with start dates, salary indexation, payroll taxes and onboarding, plus stock based compensation, tax loss carry forward and interest income. The balance sheet is driven by DSO, DPO and deferred revenue.
You also get an annual summary and a DCF: unlevered free cash flow, WACC, exit multiple, implied equity value and implied share price. A VC financing tab covers post and pre money, required ownership and founder dilution. Unit economics are calculated on the model you pick: ARPU, CAC, LTV, LTV to CAC, CAC payback, magic number and burn multiple. A diligence style Health Check flags what a reviewer will flag first, so you fix it before they do.
Every input lives on one Assumptions tab. More than 4,800 formulas, zero formula errors, industry standard colour coding, and formulas protected so you cannot overwrite them by accident. Works in Excel and LibreOffice, any currency, no macros. Sample data is included so every tab works the moment you open it.
FAQ
Why not just ask ChatGPT or Claude? Try it. You will get a model that looks right. The problem: you cannot tell whether it IS right, and your investors can. AI-generated models fail on exactly the things diligence teams check first: a balance sheet that ties, churn logic that holds, formulas that survive scrutiny. This model is built to that bar (the balance check row ships in the file) by someone who spent 7 years taking models apart for investors. You are not paying for generation. You are paying for verification and judgment.
Which Excel version? Any modern Excel (2016+), LibreOffice compatible. Google Sheets import works but charts may need a refresh.
Is it locked? Formulas are protected so you can't break them by accident. There is no password; unprotect any sheet from the Review menu if you want to edit a formula. Every blue input is editable as it ships.
Can I use it for client work? Yes, the license covers use within one business, including client deliverables. Reselling or redistributing the file itself is not allowed.
Updates? All v1.x updates are free. Download the latest version any time from your Flevy account.
Support? Reach me through Flevy messaging; I respond within two business days.
Got a question about the product? Email us at support@flevy.com or ask the author directly by using the "Ask the Author a Question" form. If you cannot view the preview above this document description, go here to view the large preview instead.
Source: Best Practices in Entrepreneurship, Integrated Financial Model Excel: Startup Financial Model: 10 Business Models & DCF Excel (XLSX) Spreadsheet, Arno Meijer
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Independent finance and AI strategy advisor. I spent seven years in Big Four transaction advisory at EY-Parthenon (market analysis, quality-of-earnings and deal strategy across thirty-plus SaaS businesses) and a year as an investment manager in venture capital, taking hundreds of startup models apart for investors. CFA Level I and II.
I build the investor-grade finance tools I wish
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