Most founders learn the money calls the hard way. You don't have to.

The runway, pricing, hiring, and fundraising calls that make or break your company, in five minutes every Thursday.

Written by Mariya Valeva 🤠, the CFO who gets founders

what lands every Thursday ↓

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The Founder's Job

You can't run a $10M company by solving $10K problems.

Where your attention goes decides whether you reach $20M.

Profitability

Are your metrics actually healthy?

Half the numbers founders track look healthier than they really are.

Runway & Burn

The way you run the company is shortening your runway.

Your plan assumes a backbone the company doesn't have yet.

Team & Hiring

Why founders pay twice for bad hires.

The salary is the smallest cost of getting it wrong.

Fundraising & Investors

How to design a seed round you won't regret.

The terms you wave through now decide who really controls the company.

Exits & Valuation

What no one tells founders about "life-changing" money.

The number on the wire is the easy part. What it changes isn't.

The Founder's Job

You can't run a $10M company by solving $10K problems.

Where your attention goes decides whether you reach $20M.

FUNDRAISING & INVESTORS·THE FOUNDER'S JOB·RUNWAY, BURN & CASH FLOW·PROFITABILITY·GTM & DISTRIBUTION·MENTAL MODELS·TEAM, HIRING & EQUITY·BREAKDOWNS·EXITS & VALUATION·AI ECONOMICS· FUNDRAISING & INVESTORS·THE FOUNDER'S JOB·RUNWAY, BURN & CASH FLOW·PROFITABILITY·GTM & DISTRIBUTION·MENTAL MODELS·TEAM, HIRING & EQUITY·BREAKDOWNS·EXITS & VALUATION·AI ECONOMICS·

What lands in your inbox

Five things, every Thursday. The highest-ROI five minutes on your calendar.

The big idea

The Margin

The week's big idea, jargon-free, like why a "profitable" month can still leave you short on cash.

The mindset flip

Tiny Reframe

The one reframe that flips the whole problem, and makes your next call obvious.

Do it this week

Margin Moves

Two or three moves you can make before Friday, each tied to a number it should move.

Real talk

Founder's Q&A

The blunt answer your cofounder's too nice to give you. I'm not.

Worth stealing

Founder's Toolbox

Steal it outright: CFO-approved models, tools, decks, and frameworks. Yours now.

Browse by topic

Every founder problem has a Tiny Margins issue.

Personal

AI Economics

Exits & Valuation

Breakdowns

Team, Hiring & Equity

Profitability

Runway, Burn & Cash Flow

Mental Models

GTM & Distribution

The Founder's Job

Fundraising & Investors

Recent ISSUES

Tiny Margins | Issue 059

Only 7% of People Ask Why. Hire Them.

Jul 30, 2026

7 min read

Tiny Margins | Issue 058

Your AI Appetite Is the New Burn Rate

Jul 23, 2026

5 min read

The full archive

Every Thursday issue since the start, free to read whenever you like.

Browse all issues

MARGIN OF TRUST

Changing how founders build. One tiny issue at a time.

Mariya is the sharpest financial mind I know, and somehow the easiest to understand. That combination almost never exists in one person. Tiny Margins is proof.

Ali Mamujee

CEO, Allenix

You can tell Mariya has actually been there. She's seen what happens behind the scenes and understands the calls founders make when things get messy, not just when everything looks good on paper.

Elisabetta Toretti

Founder, Mint & Lemon

At Harvard, they taught us that running out of cash is one of the biggest reasons startups fail. Reading Tiny Margins is how I make sure mine grows profitably.

Ziad Hassan

Founder, Sawa

The highest-ROI five minutes on your calendar.

Join the founders building leaner, financially sound businesses, and creating real optionality, every Thursday.