What is FDS?
FDS stands for Financial Design for Startups, which for most people is not self-explanatory. There are plenty of startup education and capital readiness programs out there, so how is FDS different?
The Common Startup Trap
Most founders approach finance reactively. They raise money because they need it. They accept terms because they feel they have little to no leverage or choice. They dilute themselves early, lose strategic control, and spend years regretting decisions made in a rush. Most startups do not survive to the end of the journey, and most that do have disappointing returns for disillusioned founders. There should be a better way to build startups as a founder, right?
Finance as a Design Problem
FDS introduces a different perspective: treat finance as a design problem.
Design means aligning choices with intention. It means understanding trade-offs. It means solving for more than just survival — it means solving for alignment between:
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Your company’s purpose
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Your business opportunity
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Your financing strategy
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Your time horizon
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Your owner’s agenda and exit plan (or your decision not to exit)
Awareness, Not Perfection
Most founders approach finance reactively. They raise money because they need it. They accept terms because they feel they have little to no leverage or choice. They dilute themselves early, lose strategic control, and spend years regretting decisions made in a rush. Most startups do not survive to the end of the journey, and most that do have disappointing returns for disillusioned founders. There should be a better way to build startups as a founder, right?
Startups Are Not Small Corporations
Startups are not just small versions of large companies. They are temporary organizations designed to discover whether a scalable, repeatable business can exist around an idea. They operate under high uncertainty, limited resources, and immense pressure to make fast, often irreversible decisions. As founders, you want the temporary organization to evolve into what you envision. Whether your aim is to bootstrap a sustainable niche company, raise venture capital for a aspiring unicorn, exit through acquisition, or list and start the next phase journey, the goal is the same: maintain clarity and intentionality in how you structure and grow.
The FDS Journey
In FDS, we’ll walk through your startup journey in the order that founders actually experience it — from initial idea to final exit — integrating tools, visuals, and founder-tested frameworks every step of the way. FDS exists to help you design your startup’s strategic and financial path — on purpose, not by default.
Beyond Quick Fixes
Most startup programs focus on either methods such as Lean Startup and I-Cores, or “quick fixes” such as growth hacks, fundraising tactics, or pitch decks tricks. All this is helpful, and to a degree FDS covers these topics. However, FDS takes the long-term view and assumes you’re not just trying to raise capital — you’re trying to build a company that survives and achieves your values and goals, whether it is wealth maximization, impact, lifestyle or legacy. Different end goals require different paths and different strategies. Design to your purpose.
Academic Roots, Practical Application
Drawing from relevant academic research and startup literature and combing it with tested venture development pedagogics, FDS is designed to be modular, practical, and reality-tested. It doesn’t assume you want to build a unicorn. It assumes you want to build something right — for you, your co-founders, your customers, and your investors (if you chose to have them).
Looking Ahead
There has been a strong interest in Financial Design for Investors (FDI) and an add-on FDS Negotiation Workshop (FDS-NW). At present, focus is on delivering the FDS course to the Swedish startup ecosystem. However, in time both FDI and FDS-NW may materialize.
Want to know more?
If you want to know more about the details of the FDS course, and book your participation, go to FDS course information & booking.
If you want to know more about where the knowledge in FDS is coming from, and the history behind FDS, check out FDS research, resources & history.
If you want to sign up for more information and news, as we schedule more FDS course dates or release other news, sign up below.