Description

The theme of the ninth week course is entrepreneurial financing and financial modelling. The classroom lectures cover common financing channels for start-ups (such as angel investment, venture capital, crowdfunding, etc.) and the basic structure of the income statement and balance sheet. We also learned how to build a 5-year financial forecast table and identify the funds required at different stages. The group used the template provided by the instructor in the seminar and tried to calculate the market size, growth rate and profit and loss nodes.

Feelings

When I first came into contact with financial content, I felt a little anxious and powerless. As a non-finance student, I was unfamiliar with many indicators in the table (such as gross margin, breakeven point) and was afraid of making mistakes. However, in the group discussion, I found that everyone faced similar confusion. We began to consult each other’s materials and repeatedly discussed the forecast logic. I gradually felt that financial forecasts were not accurate. However, the key is the “rationality” and “clear assumptions” behind them.

Evaluation

The positive aspect of this study is that I truly understood the core role of finance in business planning by personally participating in the construction of the forecast model. At the same time, group work has enhanced my awareness of seeking help and cooperation in unfamiliar fields. However, there are also shortcomings. Specifically, our estimate of market size at the beginning of the project was optimistic and lacked data support. This also reflects that we do not have a deep understanding of “feasibility verification”.

Analysis

The course mentioned that Financial projections should be based on reasonable assumptions, not guesses or overly optimistic beliefs. They should reflect the logic of your business model and market expectations (Zacharakis, Corbett and Bygrave, 2020). This sentence inspired me deeply. I realised that entrepreneurs do not need to deal with financial statements like accountants. However, I must understand the growth logic, user path and capital demand rhythm behind the numbers. As the course emphasises, investors do not expect profits at the beginning. Early losses are acceptable as long as entrepreneurs can clarify the path to profitability (Barringer and Ireland, 2018). This reflects that investors value strategy and logic rather than immediate returns.

Conclusion

This experience made me realise that having basic financial thinking and modelling skills will become an important core competency when I work in entrepreneurship or business strategy in the future. The reasoning logic behind financial models will help me better formulate data-driven growth strategies and resource allocation plans in the future. I realise that I have shortcomings in financial skills. However, I can build basic financial thinking skills through active learning and teamwork.

Action Plan

I will read the chapters on growth assumptions and profit models in The Startup Owner’s Manual. I plan to actively work with my teammates to improve our profit forecast table and explain the business logic behind the financial numbers in the pitch. In future projects, I plan to set financial milestones in advance and learn to use Excel or Notion templates to simplify forecasting.