I'm scared. We're a bootstrapped logistics startup, and we don't have enough in the bank to fuel the fleet of vans. We're putting todays fuel (18 vehicles) on my personal card. Otherwise, we're out of business.

Cash flow for us has always been an issue. Yes, we have paying customers, and payment from them comes in late. Thankfully the $1.5K of diesel that's on my credit card will last most of them until Tuesday (it's Thursday right now). Hoping they pay up soon, otherwise we won't be able to pay anyone on the 30th. :\

See the problem with most startups who close down is that they don't have paying customers.

You would be surprised at how communicating directly resolves things. Talk to your clients about changing the payment schedule. Ask them for a schedule such that you always have working capital at your disposal.

Thanks for this advice. I had a call with our 2 largest customers this morning and told them "Look, we're cutting this close and I know you're really happy with our service compared to your old vendors, any way you can cut us a check a few days earlier than your terms say you're required to?"

Our main point of contact at A and J are going to get back to me in an hour. I'm hoping they have a check for us.

Communicating will help solve much of these 'fire drills'...including more consistsent communication with those other stakeholders besides your clients/customers.

If you have taken outside capital, you should have been communicating monthly to those investors about these challenges.

This is a big reason why so few startups make it past 3 years. They don't engage others that can help them succeed, until it is often too late.

I hope it is not too lake for your business.