Most companies are bleeding cash in 4 spots. (And don't even know which wound to fixMost companies are bleeding cash in 4 spots. (And don't even know which wound to fix
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Michael Magdy
• May 13
Most companies are bleeding cash in 4 spots.
(And don't even know which wound to fix first.)
The brutal reality:
Every dollar leaving your business falls into one of these buckets:
OPERATIONS (OpEx) - The Daily Bleed ↳ Your rent, salaries, software subscriptions ↳ The money that vanishes every month ↳ Cut too deep? Your business stops tomorrow
ASSETS (CapEx) - The Big Bets ↳ That $50K machine, new warehouse, custom software ↳ Spend once, use for years ↳ Get it wrong? You're stuck with expensive mistakes
SALES (RevEx) - The Revenue Tax ↳ Every sale costs you something ↳ Materials, commissions, shipping, processing fees ↳ Ignore this? Profit margins turn into losses
MONEY (FinEx) - The Hidden Killer ↳ Interest on loans, bank fees, credit charges ↳ The cost of using other people's money ↳ Let it grow? It eats your profits alive
Let's look at 2 examples:
Coffee Shop Reality: • OpEx: $15K/month (rent, barista wages, utilities) • CapEx: $80K once (espresso machine, renovation) • RevEx: $3 per cup sold (beans, cup, lid) • FinEx: $500/month (equipment loan interest)
SaaS Startup Truth: • OpEx: $50K/month (team, AWS, office) • CapEx: $200K once (custom platform build) • RevEx: $20 per customer (payment fees, onboarding) • FinEx: $2K/month (venture debt interest)
Most founders lump all expenses together. Then wonder why they can't scale.
But when you separate them?
OpEx → Find your true burn rate CapEx → Time investments perfectly RevEx → Price products profitably FinEx → Optimize capital structure
Crucial insights:
✓ High OpEx? You're not scalable yet ✓ No CapEx? You're not building moats ✓ Rising RevEx? Your unit economics are broken ✓ Climbing FinEx? You're overleveraged
Common traps:
❌ Treating CapEx like OpEx (and vice versa) ❌ Ignoring RevEx when setting prices ❌ Letting FinEx compound silently ❌ Not tracking any of them separately
Watch what happens when you finally see where your money really goes.
Your future self will thank you. Your investors will respect you. Your business will actually scale.
Stop managing "expenses." Start managing OpEx, CapEx, RevEx, and FinEx.
That's how you build something that lasts.
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