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In pre-revenue life sciences companies, the most important financial decisions are often made long before the next financing is needed.

Sandi Klemann was recently featured on Episode 17 of the Zombie Advisor Podcast ("How Startups Can Forecast Cash Runway When Milestones Change with Sandi Klemann"). After years of developing sophisticated financial models and systems for emerging life sciences companies, Sandi founded Forcestra, a financial technology company developing a purpose-built forecasting platform for the unique financial and operational needs of early-stage life sciences businesses. Have a listen be

Most financial forecasts are built around time. January. February. March. Q1. Q2. Year-end. But that isn't how pre-revenue life sciences companies actually operate. They operate around milestones. An IND filing. A manufacturing run. First patient in. Completion of enrollment. A clinical readout. A regulatory submission. The next financing. Those milestones drive when activities happen. And when activities happen drives when cash is spent. Yet most forecasts are still built by

The truth is, cash runway is not a number. It's a strategy. Development-stage life science companies are dynamic by nature. Timelines shift. Milestones move. Scientific discoveries alter priorities. Financing strategies evolve. The problem is that many financial forecasts don't evolve with them.

The deck. The story. The market opportunity. The investor meetings. Most founders believe fundraising success is determined by the pitch. Financing processes rarely break during the pitch phase. They begin to unravel during diligence — when investors move beyond the narrative and start evaluating how the company operates. The lead investor goes quiet after week two. You follow up. They say they need more time to "work through a few things internally." A week later, you get