THE INDIAN STARTUP FINANCE SYSTEM 2 BOOKS · 10 CHAPTERS · 90 SECTIONS SOFT COPY ₹299 · 60% OFF BOTH PRINTED BOOKS ₹899 · 70% OFF · FREE DELIVERY THE INDIAN STARTUP FINANCE SYSTEM 2 BOOKS · 10 CHAPTERS · 90 SECTIONS SOFT COPY ₹299 · 60% OFF BOTH PRINTED BOOKS ₹899 · 70% OFF · FREE DELIVERY

LEARNVESTOR · FOUNDER FINANCE SERIES · 2026 EDITION

The decisions you take in your first ninety days decide what your company is worth in year five.

Two books for Indian founders. Structure, incorporation, compliance and founder equity — then the books, unit economics, the model and the cash that decides whether any of it matters.

2 Books
10 Chapters
90 Sections
10 Do It projects
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Foundation — Structure, Setup & Equity for Indian Founders
Book 1 · Foundation
The Numbers — Accounting, Unit Economics, Models & Cash
Book 2 · The Numbers

Where each book sits

From an idea to a fundable company.

Book 1 builds the company. Book 2 teaches you to read it. Most founders skip straight to raising — and discover in due diligence what they missed in week one.

Chapter one, book one

Twelve ways founders lose money they never spent.

None of these feels like a money decision at the time. Every one shows up as a number later — usually at the worst possible moment, which is due diligence.

#The mistakeWhat it actually costs
1Starting operations before choosing a structureRestructuring later, plus tax on transfer of assets
2Equal splits decided in an eveningThe most common cause of a founder deadlock
3No vesting on founder sharesA co-founder leaves in month seven and keeps 33%
4Nothing in writing between foundersEvery disagreement becomes a negotiation from zero
5Paying for work in promised equityUndocumented claims that surface during diligence
6Personal and company money in one accountDisallowed expenses, and a diligence red flag
7Missing the commencement-of-business filingPenalty — and the company cannot legally start
8Skipping DPIIT and MSME registrationTax and procurement benefits simply never claimed
…and four more, each with the same structure: what it costs, and how to avoid it. Chapter 1 closes with four full failure scenarios worked through with numbers.

Most founder money is not lost in bad spending. It is lost in decisions taken in week one that cost real rupees in year three.

What's inside

Two books. Read in order.

Every chapter is short numbered sections — one decision each — and ends with a Do It exercise you complete on your own company before moving on.

Foundation book cover
5 chapters 37 sections Founder → first round

BOOK 1 · BUILD THE COMPANY

Foundation

Structure, Setup & Equity for Indian Founders

The four decisions that are hardest to reverse: what your company legally is, how it is brought into existence, what it must do to stay clean, and who owns it.

  1. 01 Twelve Ways Founders Lose Money They Never Spent The twelve mistakes · hidden costs · four failure scenarios with the numbers · the money-saving checklist
  2. 02 The Startup Finance Map The ecosystem · entities, capital and ownership · regulators and who watches what · taxes and filings · the lifecycle
  3. 03 Choosing the Right Business Vehicle Private Limited · LLP · OPC · partnership and proprietorship · when to incorporate and when not to · cost vs compliance
  4. 04 Incorporation — From Idea to Legal Entity Name · DIN and DSC · SPICe+ · PAN and TAN · AGILE-PRO · bank account · GST · Udyam · DPIIT · IMB and the startup tax benefit · the first ninety days
  5. 05 Founder Equity — Who Owns What? Founder splits · shares · vesting and cliff · founder agreements · founder exit · sweat equity · Slicing Pie and Indian reality · your first cap table · dilution basics
Sample page from Foundation Sample page from Foundation Sample page from Foundation Sample page from Foundation Sample page from Foundation

Actual pages from Book 1

The Numbers book cover
5 chapters 53 sections Books → fundable

BOOK 2 · READ THE COMPANY

The Numbers

Accounting, Unit Economics, Models & Cash for Indian Founders

Companies do not fail because they are unprofitable. They fail because they run out of cash on a specific Tuesday. This book is about seeing that Tuesday coming.

  1. 01 The Books — Accounting for Startups Revenue vs cash · profit vs cash · a startup chart of accounts · the three statements · Schedule III · what your accountant actually does · the monthly close · the founder finance dashboard
  2. 02 Money That Isn't Funding Customer advances · grants · incubators and accelerators · Startup India recognition · the 80-IAC deduction · IMB · Mudra · CGTMSE · SIDBI Fund of Funds · state schemes
  3. 03 Unit Economics, Honestly Gross margin · CM1, CM2 and CM3 · CAC · LTV · CAC payback · contribution vs EBITDA · cohort analysis · retention and churn · AI and inference costs · good vs bad unit economics
  4. 04 Build the Financial Model Business drivers · revenue model · cost model · headcount · working capital · P&L, balance sheet, cash flow · the three-statement model · scenarios and sensitivity · reviewing a model
  5. 05 Runway, Burn & the Cash Calendar Gross vs net burn · calculating runway · the cash conversion cycle · receivables and payables · the monthly cash calendar · the thirteen-week forecast · when to raise · the fundraising danger zone · cash crisis planning
Sample page from The Numbers Sample page from The Numbers Sample page from The Numbers Sample page from The Numbers Sample page from The Numbers

Actual pages from Book 2

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Ten Do It projects

You finish each chapter with something real.

01 Audit your own exposure in one hour
02 Draw your own finance map
03 Make the structure decision, in writing
04 Incorporate cleanly, in order
05 Fix your equity before your next conversation
06 Close one month properly
07 Map every non-dilutive rupee available to you
08 Build your real contribution margin
09 Build a working three-statement model
10 Build your thirteen-week forecast

One instruction runs through every chapter: write it down. Almost every expensive founder problem in these books exists because something obvious was agreed in conversation and never written anywhere.

How it's written

No rates. No due dates. On purpose.

Thresholds, tax rates, penalty amounts, filing dates and scheme conditions change with every Finance Act and GST Council decision. A book printing those numbers would be wrong within months — and would quietly teach you to rely on stale figures.

The mechanics, not the numbers What each obligation is, who it applies to, what happens when it's missed, and how to decide. Every figure in a worked example is invented to make the arithmetic clear.
Written for India SPICe+, DPIIT, Udyam, 80-IAC, IMB, Schedule III, CGTMSE, SIDBI, state schemes — the actual landscape you operate in, not a US book with rupee signs.
Every diagram drawn from scratch Decision trees, cap tables, dilution bridges, margin cascades, cohort grids, runway curves. No screenshots of any portal or form.
It tells you when to stop reading Founders' agreements, sweat equity, share valuation, vesting buy-backs and term sheets should never be done from a book. The books say so, plainly.

This is for you if

  • You're about to incorporate — or already did, without fully understanding it
  • Your founder split was agreed in an evening and never written down
  • You receive financials you can't really interrogate
  • You're growing fast and quietly unsure whether growth is helping
  • Your runway is a number somebody else calculates
  • You're about to build your first financial model, or fix a broken one

This is not for you if

  • You want current tax rates and filing due dates in print
  • You want a founders' agreement you can copy and sign
  • You want someone to do your books rather than teach you to read them
  • You want a shortcut past professional advice — these books make that conversation shorter, not unnecessary

From Learnvestor readers

What people say about how these books are written.

★★★★★
Practical and easy to understand. It's helped me look at my own business decisions more clearly.
Arushi
★★★★★
The practical approach is what I found most useful. It goes beyond basic theory. Relevant for anyone building or growing a business.
Ashutosh Sehwag
★★★★★
Explained very clearly and simply. It helped me understand how to approach a situation instead of just deciding randomly. Useful and practical.
Rupal Maloo
★★★★★
It made me stop at just having good ideas and start thinking about turning them into measurable results.
Sukwinder Singh Bassi
★★★★★
The step-by-step explanations make the complex parts easier to follow, and a lot of it applies directly to day-to-day decisions.
Yashwant Reddy

Choosing between the two

Soft copy or hard copy?

Same two books, same content. The hard copy includes the complete digital set at no extra cost.

Soft — ₹299Both printed — ₹899
Both books · 10 chapters · 90 sectionsYesYes
10 Do It projectsYesYes
Digital setYesIncluded free
Printed books deliveredNoYes — both
Available inMinutes, by email3–7 days by courier
Put on the table in a co-founder conversationScreen onlyYes
Delivery charge—Free across India
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Before you order

Questions founders ask

I haven't incorporated yet. Is this too early?

It's exactly the right time. Book 1 chapter 3 is the structure decision — Private Limited, LLP, OPC, partnership or proprietorship — and chapter 3.5 covers when not to incorporate at all. Reading it before you register saves the most expensive mistake in the book: starting operations before choosing a structure.

I already have a company running. Is Book 1 useless to me?

No — chapter 5 on founder equity is where most established startups have unfixed problems: no vesting, undocumented splits, sweat equity promised verbally. Those surface during due diligence, which is the worst time to find them. Book 2 is the one you'll use daily.

Do I need a finance background?

No. Every formula is worked through in full. What's assumed is that you'll open your own numbers alongside the book — several chapters are worth very little read passively.

Does this replace my CA or company secretary?

No, and it says so explicitly. Drafting a founders' agreement, structuring sweat equity, valuing shares, designing a vesting buy-back and reviewing a term sheet should never be done from a book. These books are written to make that conversation shorter and sharper — so you brief your professionals properly instead of paying them to explain basics.

Why aren't current tax rates and due dates included?

Because they'd be wrong within months. Rates, thresholds, penalties and filing dates change with every Finance Act, GST Council decision and ministry notification. The books teach the mechanics — what each obligation is, who it applies to, what happens when it's missed — and tell you to confirm every current figure with your CA before acting.

How and when do I get the books?

Soft copy reaches your email within a few minutes of payment. Printed books are dispatched within 3–7 working days across India, and your digital set is emailed immediately so you can start the same day.

Is delivery free?

Yes. Delivery is free anywhere in India on the hard copy — no separate shipping charge is added at checkout.

Can I use the checklists and templates in my own company?

Yes. The checklists, templates and worked examples may be used freely within your own company. They may not be redistributed, resold, or reproduced in training material, courseware or client deliverables.

Do I get lifetime access?

Yes. Once purchased, the digital set stays accessible and can be re-downloaded any time.

One decision left

Find out what you missed before diligence does.

Soft copy reaches your inbox in minutes. Both printed books reach your desk in a week — with the digital set free, so you don't wait to begin.

60% OFF Soft copy ₹749₹299 FREE SOFT COPY Both printed books ₹2,999₹899

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This is education, not advice. These books explain how business structures, incorporation, compliance, founder equity, startup accounting, unit economics, financial modelling and cash management work in India. They do not constitute legal, tax, accounting, secretarial or investment advice, and no advisory relationship is created by reading them. This is an independent publication, not affiliated with, endorsed by, or produced in association with any government department, regulator, professional body, law firm or service provider. All statutory bodies and schemes are referred to descriptively, for identification only. All worked examples use invented figures. Confirm every current rate, threshold and due date with your chartered accountant, company secretary or lawyer before you act.