See what it actually costs to go full-time founder
Every founder thinks it'll take 6 months. The median is 14. LeapCost shows you what it actually took for 2,400+ founders in your exact category. Real timelines. Real costs. Real sacrifices.
2,400+
Founder journeys analyzed
14 months
Median SaaS profitability
$45,000
Median capital before break-even
73%
Founders who underestimated costs
The assumptions that sink founders
You're not the first person to think your situation is different. Here's what the data says.
The 6-Month Myth
Most founders plan for 6 months. The median SaaS founder doesn't see profit until month 14. E-commerce: month 12. Services: month 6. Content: month 24. Your spreadsheet isn't lying to you. Your assumptions are.
Hidden Burn Rates
Customer acquisition cost alone typically runs 3-5x what early-stage founders budget. Tools, contractors, and business infrastructure add another $500-1,500 per month most people forget to model.
The Dependency Blindspot
With 2+ dependents, your effective burn rate is 35-50% higher than your personal spending suggests. Health insurance, childcare, and stability costs rarely make it into the optimistic projection.
Know your number in 3 steps
No spreadsheets. No guessing. Just your answers and real founder data.
Answer 8 Questions
Business type, savings, monthly burn, income to replace, dependents, risk tolerance. Takes under 90 seconds. No financial jargon.
Get Your Reality Benchmarks
We analyze 2,400+ documented founder journeys to show you real timelines, real capital burned, and the #1 expense founders in your category consistently underestimate.
See Your Gap (or Confirm You're Covered)
Your savings plotted against the realistic path to profitability. If there's a gap, you see it in red, in months, in plain language. If you're covered, we tell you that too.
Everything you need to make the call
Plan with reality, not hope.
Leap Readiness Assessment
8 questions calibrated to your business type. Not a generic calculator. Your inputs drive every benchmark and recommendation.
Reality Benchmark Report
Optimistic, realistic, and pessimistic ranges for months to revenue, months to profitability, and capital burned. Based on founders who actually did it.
Personal Runway Calculator
A visual timeline showing where your savings end and where profitability typically begins. The gap, if there is one, is shown in red.
Scenario Stress Test
Adjust starting capital, burn rate, and revenue ramp speed with live sliders. Save scenario snapshots to compare side by side.
Founder Reality Stories
Real case studies matched to your business type. Starting conditions, actual timeline, actual costs, biggest surprise. No inspirational fluff.
PDF Export (Full Picture)
Print or share a clean version of your report with your partner, advisor, or anyone who needs to understand your plan.
From people who used it
Real feedback from founders and aspiring founders who ran the numbers.
“I thought I had 18 months of runway. LeapCost showed me I had 11. I spent 6 more months at my job saving before I quit, and it made all the difference.”
Rahul S.
SaaS founder, left his job 2023
“Every other tool asked me to fill in assumptions I didn't have. LeapCost gave me real numbers from real founders who looked like me. That's what I needed.”
Jessica M.
E-commerce founder, 14 months in
“The gap visualization hit me hard. I saw 5 red months staring back at me. I restructured my launch plan around that number. Worth every second it took.”
David L.
Former consultant, services founder
“My husband thought my timeline was unrealistic. I showed him the benchmark report and he understood why I needed 2 more years at my job first. This thing is a communication tool.”
Nadia P.
Newsletter founder, planning stage
“The stress test changed my whole strategy. I realized keeping a part-time contract for 6 months reduced my gap to zero. I wouldn't have seen that without the sliders.”
Tom K.
B2B SaaS, 8 months post-leap
“Most of what's online is survivorship bias. People who failed don't write blog posts. LeapCost has the uncomfortable numbers and I respected that.”
Clara B.
DTC e-commerce, planning stage
Start free. Upgrade when you need more.
No trials. The free tier is permanent. Upgrade for unlimited access and deeper data.
Reality Check
See if your runway reaches profitability
- 1 assessment
- 1 AI-generated benchmark report
- Personal runway visualization
- 1 scenario snapshot
- 3 matched founder stories
Full Picture
Everything you need to plan with confidence
- Unlimited assessments across business types
- Detailed reports with percentile breakdowns
- Unlimited scenario snapshots + side-by-side comparison
- Full founder stories library with filtering
- PDF export to share with partners or advisors
Common questions
Know your number before you quit.
Join founders who planned with reality, not hope. Free to start. Takes 90 seconds.