The Extended Balance Sheet: How to Spot Invisible Risk Inside Your Startup

Startups aren't just derailed by cash burn—they're undone by invisible liabilities: cultural debt, fragile partnerships, key-person risk, and unsustainable customer concentration. These don't show up on your official balance sheet, but they live in your Slack threads and hiring decisions. Founders need an "Extended Balance Sheet" mindset: account for trust, resilience, operational redundancy, and strategic optionality. It's not just about what you *have*—it's about what you risk when things go sideways. Ruthlessly audit hidden exposures now, or they’ll surface later—louder, and more expensive to fix.