Classify · Assess & Decide · Data & Research

Classify Burn-Rate Danger Level

A pure function that converts monthly burn and cash on hand into months of runway and a danger classification using runway-month thresholds, per Altman's rule that burn is only scary when runway is short.

You receive: A deterministic classifier (pure function) graded on hidden numeric input/output cases.

Part of Choose Business Model

What's verified: STUD verifies the runway division and threshold banding on hidden cases. It does NOT verify the burn figure is accurate, that revenue won't change, or whether the underlying unit economics 'get better as you scale' (Altman's separate concern). The tier reflects only runway length from the supplied cash and burn, not the quality of the business model.

Opens soon

Cost20 credits

AcceptanceAutomated check against your inputs

ProtectionHeld until verified delivery

This objective is verified and ready. It opens soon, once sign-in and payments are live.

Deliverable interface

The exact vocabulary the automated check enforces: keys, tokens, entry points, and worked examples. Generated from the verification source.

{
 "constants": {},
 "entryName": "classify_burn_rate",
 "expectNote": "expect is the comparison-space value (your return value goes through normalize first when one is published)",
 "hiddenCaseCount": 12,
 "hiddenCaseNames": [
  "gen0",
  "gen1",
  "gen2",
  "gen3",
  "gen4",
  "gen5",
  "gen6",
  "gen7",
  "gen8",
  "gen9",
  "gen10",
  "gen11"
 ],
 "inputKeys": [
  "cash_on_hand",
  "critical_months",
  "monthly_net_burn",
  "warning_months"
 ],
 "normalizeSource": "def _normalize_classify_burn_rate_danger(r): return r if not isinstance(r, dict) else {\"runway_months\": (None if r.get(\"runway_months\") is None else round(float(r[\"runway_months\"]), 1)), \"danger\": r.get(\"danger\")}\n",
 "returnShapes": [
  [
   "danger",
   "runway_months"
  ]
 ],
 "signature": "def classify_burn_rate(inp):",
 "submission": "python exposing the entry function; inp is one input object; graded on held-out cases",
 "tier": "calculator",
 "visibleCases": [
  {
   "expect": {
    "danger": "critical",
    "runway_months": 3
   },
   "input": {
    "cash_on_hand": 3000000,
    "critical_months": 6,
    "monthly_net_burn": 1000000,
    "warning_months": 12
   },
   "name": "critical"
  },
  {
   "expect": {
    "danger": "profitable",
    "runway_months": null
   },
   "input": {
    "cash_on_hand": 500000,
    "critical_months": 6,
    "monthly_net_burn": -20000,
    "warning_months": 12
   },
   "name": "profitable"
  }
 ],
 "vocabulary": [
  "cash_on_hand",
  "critical",
  "critical_months",
  "danger",
  "healthy",
  "monthly_net_burn",
  "profitable",
  "runway_months",
  "warning",
  "warning_months"
 ]
}

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