Investor question 27 of 50 · Costs, burn & runway
“When do you become profitable?”
Short answer: the investor is really asking can you survive without more funding? Answer in three steps: (1) give the first EBITDA-positive month on the base plan; (2) say whether you're default alive on planned funding; (3) explain what you'd cut to reach profitability sooner.
What they're really asking
Can you survive without more funding? Investors rarely care about the question on its own. They're testing whether you know your numbers cold, whether your assumptions are honest, and whether you can explain them simply.
How to answer, step by step
- Give the first EBITDA-positive month on the base plan.
- Say whether you're default alive on planned funding.
- Explain what you'd cut to reach profitability sooner.
An example answer
EBITDA turns positive in month 36. If we couldn't raise again, slowing hiring and paid marketing would make us cash-flow positive earlier.
Figures are from Loopdesk, the fictional SaaS company in our sample files. Swap in your own numbers and keep the structure.
The answer that loses trust
Avoid
"Profitability isn't a priority."
Where the proof lives
Before the meeting, find the number behind your answer. In our workbooks it lives in: Runway & Burn, Scenario Comparison. If you can open that tab and point to it, the follow-up question is easy.