The Founder’s blind spot: Lessons in money management

Not long ago, I was speaking with an entrepreneur and the founder of a promising startup. She had about US$200,000 sitting in her bank, earning 0.1 per cent a year – and was contemplating taking on expensive debt to fund crucial hires and keep the lights on. This is a common refrain I’ve heard too often — founders taking on costly debt while their own capital sits idle, when better treasury tools could have made it work harder.

Today’s entrepreneurs are some of the sharpest people I know: obsessive about burn rates and relentless in negotiating contracts and payment terms down to the last cent. Yet when it comes to idle cash, they are often left with outdated solutions that quietly eat away at their runway.

The contradiction is alarming. We celebrate entrepreneurship as the engine of growth, but the financial system penalises the very people driving it. Having faced the same impossible financial trade-offs, I know first-hand that traditional investment solutions from financial institutions aren’t designed for early-stage startups that need both growth and flexibility.

Professional money market funds demand million-dollar minimums. Meanwhile, Investment platforms require capital lockups that entirely overlook the volatility of small business cash flow, especially in sectors where seasonal fluctuations can make or break a business. Onboarding often presumes a dedicated finance team that can wade through complex documentation. For early-stage companies, where cash needs can swing overnight, none of this fits.

And the costs are real. Research suggests SMEs in Singapore alone lose SG$800 million (US$584 million) annually in foregone interest — capital that could support hiring, marketing or keeping businesses alive long enough to scale. Aspire’s own data shows that 55 per cent of funds sit idle in low-yield accounts, generating negligible returns.

Also Read: How technology has revolutionised operational efficiency in consumer finance

The good news is that we are starting to see a mindset shift. Financial technology — from automated cash management to sophisticated treasury tools designed specifically for smaller businesses — is beginning to address some of these long-standing pain points. Progressive financial institutions, too, are recognising the opportunity and are increasingly partnering with fintechs to serve small businesses and startups.

But tools alone are not enough. Founders must demand more: research alternatives, challenge traditional banking relationships, and adopt solutions that turn cash from a static asset into a legitimate growth engine. Every month delayed is money left on the table.

Through my own experience, and hundreds of conversations with successful business owners, I’ve found that what early-stage companies really need is often very different to what’s assumed. Here are the themes that emerge most consistently:

• Liquidity: Given a choice, founders will always choose flexibility over a slightly higher return. Earning 3–4 per cent with next-day access is far more valuable than six per cent locked up for months. When a crucial hire appears or a competitor is suddenly in play, capital needs to be available immediately.
• Simplicity: Startups don’t have treasury departments — they have founders splitting time between customer meetings and product sprints. Managing money across multiple accounts is tedious and distracting – so find the most useful solution that integrates seamlessly into existing workflows to free up your time.
• Transparency: In the fast-moving startup world, businesses need real-time insights into their cash position so they can pivot quickly when conditions change. Solutions that create administrative overhead or obscure risks do more harm than good.
• Risk management: Founders can’t afford to gamble with working capital, neither can they let inflation quietly drain resources. What they need is risk management that protects capital without the institutional-scale complexity that weighs down legacy businesses.

Also Read: Why embedded finance is critical to Southeast Asia’s digital future

The past seven years as a founder have been the most rewarding and nerve-wracking time of my life. If there’s one personal lesson I can leave you with, it’s this: cash management will never be as exciting as raising a new round, but it is often the more decisive factor in whether a business survives long enough to raise the next one.

The founders who recognise this — and demand better tools to put their capital to work — will give themselves a longer runway, greater resilience, and more freedom to seize the opportunities that matter.

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