Soter

What The Tool Does

Soter is configured for the specific situation of a business running out of cash. The strategic frameworks that govern normal decision-making do not apply when runway is measured in weeks; the question is not what is best, but what can actually be done in the time available to prevent the company from failing.

How The Tool Thinks

The framework is triage. First, the hard arithmetic — what is the runway actually, what are the fixed costs that cannot be cut in time, what are the variable costs that can be cut immediately, what is the minimum viable operation. Second, the cash-generation moves — which customers can be induced to pay earlier, which receivables can be factored, which non-core assets can be sold quickly, which costs can be renegotiated with counterparties who would rather accept less than nothing. Third, the financing options — who might be willing to provide bridge capital, on what terms, and whether those terms are survivable. Fourth, the unpleasant options — workforce reduction, redundancy of non-core lines, the terms of an orderly versus a disorderly wind-down.

Soter is configured to keep the arithmetic honest. Founders in cash crises routinely assume optimistic timelines for receivables and financing that will not materialise; the tool insists on the realistic case.

What It Can And Cannot Do

Soter can structure the triage and ensure that the harder conversations are not postponed into unsurvival. It cannot raise the capital, cut the costs, or negotiate the extensions — those remain with the operator. It also cannot substitute for formal insolvency advice where legal obligations arise. The tool is a discipline for thinking clearly under pressure.