If you're trying to stretch your startup runway without raising more money, you're not alone — and you're not out of options. There are plenty of ways to buy yourself time and breathing room without going back to investors. Here are some of the most effective, depending on your stage, traction, and tolerance for trade-offs.
Get cash in faster
The fastest way to improve runway is to tighten up how you collect money that’s already owed to you. That means switching to annual contracts paid upfront, offering early payment discounts, and chasing overdue invoices more consistently. It’s not glamorous, but it works.
Spend less
Classic burn-reduction territory: review every line of spend, cut the nice-to-haves, renegotiate contracts, slow down hiring. You’ve heard it all before — and when done with discipline (not panic), it can buy months of runway.
Expand your existing customers
Upsells and renewals are cheaper than net-new acquisition. If you’ve got happy customers, find ways to grow those accounts — add-ons, seat expansions, or longer-term commitments. It’s one of the most efficient ways to grow revenue without blowing your CAC.
Revisit pricing
Don’t overlook pricing. Even a small increase on new deals or renewals can have a meaningful impact on cash flow. Annual contracts with built-in price escalators are especially helpful for forecasting.
And then… there’s customer financing
Look, we’re biased — but we think Customer Financing is one of the most overlooked ways to extend your runway without raising capital or cutting back on growth.
Here’s how it works: your customer wants to buy your annual SaaS plan but can’t afford the upfront cost. With Lemon, you can offer them a simple financing option at checkout — they pay monthly, and you still get the full annual amount paid up front. Lemon handles the financing, takes on the risk, and collects the instalments from your customer over time.
It’s a bit like Buy Now, Pay Later, but built for B2B SaaS. You don’t have to change your pricing, your billing system, or your sales process — and you don’t need to take out a loan or give up equity just to bring future cash forward.
If your customers want more flexible terms but you still want predictable cash flow, this might be the easiest lever to pull.
