Problem: High-Level Funding Plan Develop a high-level funding schedule for a new venture business concept that can be used to discuss cash requirements for the first year of operations with prospective investors. The schedule should be prepared on a monthly basis and should include the following specific details:

(1) Headcount plan - including all personnel needed to carry out the critical operations of the business for the upcoming year.

(2) Forecast general & administrative expenses, including office rent and related costs, utilities, communication expenses, insurance, filing fees, etc.

(3) Estimate the cost of how you plan to market the company/product.

(4) Develop your revenue model, including key assumptions and variables such as unit sales, sales growth, number of customers by the end of the year, product pricing, etc., Make the model flexible enough to enable you to change key variables and run "what if" analyses.

(5) If the cost of delivering your product of service is significant, forecast the cost of goods sold based upon estimate costs and the product assumptions used in item 4 above.

(6) After preparing the initial financial plan, critically review the plan and assumptions (including having advisors and other management team members review the plan for reasonableness). Adjust the month-to-month results to "normalize" the cash balance (and ensure it never runs below $0), adjusting discretionary expenses if necessary.

Upon completion of the financial model, answer the following questions:

Question 1: How much cash do you need to raise to operate during the first 12 months of operations? Please include your numeric answer and an explanation of several sentences. (about 150 words)

Question 2: Does the amount of cash needed in item 1 above fall within the "reasonableness range" for an early stage company (i.e., up to $5 million)? Please include your numeric answer and an explanation of several sentences. (about 150 words)

Question 3 : What is your monthly cash burn rate - both gross and net burn (gross burn is the average of total expenses each month; net burn is gross burn offset by the average monthly cash generated from revenues). Please include your numeric answer and an explanation of several sentences. (about 150 words)

Question 4: How long will you be able to operate at the end of the 12 months forecast before you need to raise additional funding? Please include your numeric answer and an explanation of several sentences. (about 150 words)

Question 5: Please attach a copy of the Financial Model that you created for this assignment.