Hey, Aaron here! Welcome to this bi-monthly startup newsletter. In each write-up, I tackle questions about building products, financial planning, growth, and raising capital! Today we dive into -

Education:

Time management for founders

Opinion:

The sale isn’t over when your customer says yes — it’s over when the cash hits your account

Early-stage B2B founders should be cautious not to celebrate too early.

One of the biggest signs of a rookie B2B founder is confusing "we made a sale" with "we collected the money."

In the early days, your #1 goal is to validate your product, as it should be. So you get excited when someone says they’ll buy — and you should be. That’s the right milestone for validation.

But the second you start actually charging — the moment there's a contract, an invoice, real numbers tied to real money — you realize fast:

Cash collection is the real victory.

Otherwise, you’re building a business that looks good on paper — full of signed deals, happy demos, glowing promises — but has no money in the bank. And a business without cash dies fast.

Why This Hits Harder in B2B

If you're selling to small businesses:

• They usually don't have much cash on hand, and if something needs to be cut or delayed, then it’s likely going to be the new tech they just signed up for.

• Even if they love your product, your invoice can easily get delayed, buried, or just plain forgotten amidst the 100 day-to-day fires of running a small business.

If you're selling to enterprises:

• You're often not fighting an issue of demand — you’re fighting “the bureaucracy.”

• Both the sales timeline itself and the payment terms can be brutal. Sales cycles can be 6-12+ months, and once you do close them, you’re hit with payment terms: Net 60, Net 90, or longer.

That means you could close a deal today — and not see a dollar for two, three, or even four months. Meanwhile, you're fronting the cost of delivery, paying salaries, burning runway to support customer success, and investing in scaling — all while your bank account stays flat.

Cash Collection Isn't Just a Finance Problem — It's a Survival Problem

At first, it feels small.

"It's just a delay. They'll pay eventually."

But small delays snowball fast. They kill momentum. They break cash flow models. They stress teams. And you can't pay your team or reinvest in growth with a promise or a handshake — only with collected cash.

This is why, both in my business and with my clients, we focus heavily on building a cash-first mindset early:

• Set clear payment terms upfront (and push for partial up-front if we can)

• Follow up on invoices aggressively — don’t assume “someone” is handling it (aggressive doesn’t mean rude, it means on time, regularly, and with clear expectations)

• Forecast cash received, not just sales closed

Celebrate deposits, not deals (and I mean literally – as in the sale doesn’t count as a sale internally until the first invoice is paid)

My Takeaways / Next Steps (if I’m a first-time founder)

• Charge early. Even if it’s just $1, train yourself to focus on cash.

• Know your customer. Small businesses are unpredictable; Enterprises are slow.

• Forecast cash, not contracts.

• Push for better terms while you can. You won’t magically get leverage later.

Bottom line: Get paid. Stay alive. Scale smart.

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Written By Aaron @(un)conventional Team