Founder course Course 22 of 24

Understand the business underneath the work.

Understand a simple business by separating revenue, costs and the assumptions behind the calculation. Start with what each sale contributes toward fixed costs, then check which real expenses the example leaves out. Revenue alone is not profit.

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Type this when Cadence asks what you want to learn

I want to learn business fundamentals because I'm an aspiring founder and want to start a company.

Change any word so it fits your situation. The course is built from what you type and a few setup questions.

A standing column and fallen structures connected by a long arc. — Business **Business fundamentals**
30 short lessons. Day 1 is ready.

Best for: Founder & business
Prerequisites: No formal prerequisites
Course length: 30 daily lessons
Lesson pace: About 10 minutes a day
Total learning time: About 5 hours in total
Access: Available on the App Store and Google Play, with an optional early testing list

An original website exercise

Work through a small break-even example.

Imagine a product priced at $10 with $6 in variable cost per unit and $40 in fixed costs for the period. Assume the price and costs stay constant and all units made are sold. These figures are invented.

01

Find the contribution per sale

Each sale contributes $10 minus $6, or $4, toward fixed costs and then profit within this simplified model.
02

Cover the fixed cost

Divide $40 by $4 to get 10 units. At 10 sales, revenue is $100 and total modeled cost is $60 plus $40, also $100.
03

Name the exclusions

Real decisions may also need payment fees, returns, taxes, working capital, owner pay and other costs. Include applicable costs before treating the calculation as a business forecast.

Worked example, not a learner result

At 12 sales in this toy model, revenue is $120 and modeled costs are $72 plus $40, or $112. The remaining $8 is the model's profit, not a real business result or a cash-flow forecast.

Recalculate with a $7 variable cost: the contribution is $3, and at least 14 whole-unit sales are needed to cover $40 of fixed costs. Check your assumptions before applying the idea to a real business.

Want a guided learning path? Start free in Cadence and look for Business Fundamentals for Founders, the in-app name for this course. This website exercise is an introduction, not an excerpt from an app lesson.

Right for now

If any of this sounds familiar, start here.

Every lesson connects to a conversation, decision, or habit you can change between lessons.

You work near business decisions

Understand the vocabulary behind pricing, margin, customers, and cash.

You are early in a founder path

Build judgment before the decisions get expensive.

You lead product or operations

Connect the work to value, economics, and operating constraints.

You want practical fluency

Learn concepts through decisions, not definitions alone.

Inside the course

Your first three days are already mapped.

The course follows a daily sequence, so the next practical move is waiting when you come back.

Customer value

Know what outcome the business promises.

Pricing judgment

Connect alternatives, willingness to pay, and packaging.

Money basics

Read margin, cash timing, and runway with less confusion.

Operating rhythm

Use metrics and reviews to steer the work.

Course preview 30 short lessons

Business Fundamentals for Founders

Day 1 Know What a Business Actually Sells

Identify the customer, the problem, and the value exchange in one idea.

Day 2
Find Pain Worth Building a Company On

Spot which customer pains are serious enough to deserve a company.
Day 3
Tell the Buyer From the User

Separate the buyer, user, and influencer in a startup scenario.

Course arc

From vague intention to repeatable moves.

Cadence turns the course into a returnable habit: short lesson, quick check, review, and the next useful step.

01 / 04

Start with value

Know what the customer pays to change.

Understand demand

Read pain, alternatives, and buying behavior.

Read the economics

Connect price, cost, and cash.

Operate the system

Use rhythm and metrics to improve decisions.

Full syllabus

30 lessons, arranged as one clear path.

Build practical business literacy across customers, positioning, revenue, margins, cash, distribution, retention, operations, and funding. By the end, you can pressure-test how a startup wins customers, delivers value, and stays alive long enough to learn.

Module 01

Startup Value Basics

Define customers, pain, and value so the company idea has a clear economic purpose.

Day 1 Know What a Business Actually Sells
Day 2 Find Pain Worth Building a Company On
Day 3 Tell the Buyer From the User
Day 4 Write a Promise Customers Get Instantly
Day 5 Sketch How the Idea Makes Money

Module 02

Market and Positioning

Identify target segments, competitors, and a defensible position for an early startup.

Day 6 Size the Opportunity Honestly
Day 7 Test Whether the Problem Is Real
Day 8 Map Who You're Really Up Against
Day 9 Pick a Wedge That's Easy to Grasp
Day 10 Checkpoint: Is Your Market Map Coherent?

Module 03

Revenue and Unit Economics

Work through pricing, costs, margin, and break-even math for a simple business model.

Day 11 Price to the Value You Create
Day 12 Find the Costs That Decide Profit
Day 13 Do the Unit Economics Math
Day 14 Find Your Break-Even and Runway
Day 15 Checkpoint: Do the Numbers Hold?

Module 04

Go to Market and Retain Customers

Connect distribution, sales, activation, retention, and delivery to the economics of the business.

Day 16 Get the Product to Customers Reliably
Day 17 Choose a Path to Customers
Day 18 Map the Sales Funnel
Day 19 Read Retention Before Growth
Day 20 Build a Driver Tree

Module 05

Cash, Operations, and Funding

Connect financial statements, cash timing, operating bottlenecks, financing, dilution, and risk to founder decisions.

Day 21 Read the Three Financial Statements
Day 22 Follow Cash Through the Business
Day 23 Fix the Operating Bottleneck
Day 24 Compare Funding and Dilution
Day 25 Map Legal, Governance, and Operating Risk

Module 06

Integrated Founder Decisions

Stress-test how market, go-to-market, economics, operations, cash, and risk fit together.

Day 26 Trace One Business End to End
Day 27 Stress-Test Go-to-Market Economics
Day 28 Run a Cash and Capacity Stress Test
Day 29 Draft the Founder Fundamentals Brief
Day 30 Choose the Next Business Test

How learning works

Read, listen, check your understanding, then keep going.

Short daily lessons

Each lesson is designed around about 10 minutes of focused learning.

Reading and audio

Read the lesson or play its audio when listening fits your day better.

Checks when useful

Lessons can use quizzes, written responses, or guided practice. A lesson can also teach without adding a forced exercise.

Progress and support

Track completed lessons, keep a streak, set reminders, and ask the in-lesson coach for help.

Know the limits. Cadence supports guided self-learning. It does not award an accredited degree or professional certificate, and important AI-generated claims should be checked against reliable sources.

Free to read first

Guides on the same skill.

Course questions

What to know before you start.

Who is Business Fundamentals for Founders for?

Every lesson connects to a conversation, decision, or habit you can change between lessons. It is listed in the founder & business part of the Cadence course library.

Do I need any prior experience?

No formal prerequisites are required. The course is designed for guided self-learning, and it is most useful when you bring a real situation or goal to the lessons.

How long does the course take?

Business Fundamentals for Founders contains 30 lessons designed around 10 minutes each. You open lessons in sequence and can move at your own pace.

What is the learning format?

Lessons can be read or played as audio. The course includes quizzes or practical checks where the lesson calls for them, plus progress tracking and Ask Coach inside lessons.

Does this course award a certificate or degree?

No. Cadence is for practical self-learning and does not award accredited degrees or professional certification.

Start today

Day 1: Know What a Business Actually Sells

Get Cadence and type the sentence above when it asks what you want to learn, or choose Business Fundamentals for Founders ready-made under Browse starter courses. Day 1 is already written.