DOC. FLK / 0001 REV. 2026.01 FOLIO 01 / 12
CAPITAL · FIELD MANUAL
Library — in production flkadvisors.com
F FLK Free Lunch Kids
SEC. 00 — COVER FREE LUNCH KIDS EDITION 2026 · VOL. 01
FLK. Capital · Field · Manual
F · L · K FREE LUNCH KIDS noun, plural

Translating the hidden curriculum of capital, finance & building.

FLK helps early-stage founders make clearer decisions around fundraising, financing options, founder finance, equity, and the unglamorous mechanics of building a real company.

Note in
the margin

You are not behind. You just need the map.

F · 01

Origin & thesis

Why this exists

For people who were never handed the playbook.

FLK stands for Free Lunch Kids. It exists because many smart founders are expected to make high-stakes decisions before anyone has explained the rules, language, or tradeoffs.

Founders are not lacking intelligence. They are often lacking translation. The ecosystem gives them fragmented advice from investors, lawyers, accountants, bankers, accelerators, and online content. FLK sits in the middle and helps founders understand what matters, what to do next, and what mistakes to avoid before things get expensive.

ENTRY Plain-English glossary F · 01 / a

Free Lunch Kid / frē ˈlən(t)SH kid /

noun · plural · informal

A founder, operator, or builder who is expected to know the rules of capital, finance, and institutional power without ever having been formally taught them. Often first-generation, underestimated, non-coastal, or technical. The opposite of an insider — not less capable, just less translated to.

See also — Hidden curriculum · Translation tax · The map

What this
really means

You are not behind. You just need the map. FLK is the document someone should have handed you before the meeting.

F · 02

What FLK helps with

Four founder lanes

The questions founders actually ask — usually right before they get expensive.

F · 02 / a Capital
Capital questions What & how much
Q.How much should I raise — and against what?
Q.What kind of capital should I pursue? Equity, debt, grant, revenue-based?
Q.Am I ready for Seed, or actually Series A?
Terms in scope
  • SAFE · priced round
  • Bridge · extension
  • Dilution · ownership
  • Milestones · runway
F · 02 / b Finance stack
Founder finance The unglamorous mechanics
Q.Do I need a bookkeeper, a CPA, or a fractional CFO — and when?
Q.What should my finance stack look like at < $1M ARR?
Q.What do investors actually look at in my numbers?
Terms in scope
  • Bookkeeping · payroll
  • Banking · cards
  • Burn · runway
  • Reporting · close
F · 02 / c Readiness
Fundraising readiness Before you open a round
Q.Who should I actually be talking to — and in what order?
Q.Am I ready to ask for intros, or am I burning warm lines?
Q.What needs to be fixed before I raise?
Terms in scope
  • Investor list · stage fit
  • Data room · diligence
  • Pipeline · cadence
  • Narrative · deck
F · 02 / d Equity
Equity & structure Before you give it away
Q.What is an 83(b) — and what happens if I miss the window?
Q.How much equity should I give a co-founder, hire, or advisor?
Q.What should I understand before issuing options?
Terms in scope
  • Cap table · pro forma
  • Vesting · cliff
  • 409A · strike
  • Option pool · refresh
F · 03

Offers & sprints

Coming soon · 2026

Short, structured engagements. Each one translates a specific question into a clear next step. No retainers, no scope creep, no growth-hack theater.

Ref. Offer One-line Best for Status
03 · 01 Capital Strategy Sprint A focused review of how much to raise, what kind of capital to pursue, and which milestones actually matter — translated into a one-page capital plan. For founders deciding what to raise and against what Soon
03 · 02 Fundraise Readiness Sprint Pressure test of narrative, investor list, data room, and the gaps that quietly cost founders a term sheet. For founders preparing investor, lender, family office or strategic conversations Soon
03 · 03 Startup Stack Audit A plain-English read of your finance, HR, payroll, banking, equity, and operating tools — what to keep, swap, or defer. For early teams choosing early-stage operating tools Soon
03 · 04 Equity & Cap Table Basics Review A read of your cap table, option pool, and equity grants — before you give away something you can't take back. For founders navigating 83(b)s, advisor equity, dilution & option pools Soon
03 · 05 Founder Finance Workshops Live, plain-English sessions for accelerators, universities, and founder communities. Built per audience. For accelerators & ecosystem partners Soon

Want to be notified when an offer opens? Send a short note →

F · 04

The FLK Library

Field guides · coming soon
VOL. 01 · INDEX

Plain-English guides for founders who were never handed the playbook.

A small, deliberate shelf of guides on the questions founders are expected to know but rarely have explained clearly. Written to be read once, then kept.

Status — In production First guides · 2026
Ref. Guide Category Pg.
04 · 01 How much should I raise? Sizing a round against runway, milestones, and what investors actually fund. Capital
04 · 02 Do I need a fractional CFO? When a bookkeeper is enough, when it isn't, and what each one actually does. Finance stack
04 · 03 What should I use for payroll & HR? An opinionated, jargon-light read of the early-stage payroll and HR stack. Ops
04 · 04 What is an 83(b)? The form. The 30-day window. The very expensive mistake of missing it. Equity
04 · 05 Before you ask for investor intros. The checklist most founders skip — and the warm lines they burn skipping it. Readiness
FIVE ENTRIES · MORE IN PRODUCTION Get notified →
F · 05

How FLK works

A three-stop route

Most founder questions get more expensive the longer they stay unnamed. The work is to surface the real one, map the options, and pick the next move — in that order.

01 Stop · 01

Name the real question.

Most founders arrive with the second question. We strip back to the first one — the actual decision being made.

Output — the question, in one sentence.
02 Stop · 02

Map the options.

What the real choices are. What each one costs. What the ecosystem will tell you about each one, and where that advice fits or doesn't.

Output — a short map of the live options.
03 Stop · 03

Decide the next step.

Not the whole plan. The next move — small enough to take this week, sharp enough to be worth taking.

Output — one decision, one next action.
What this is not
  • book a call
  • thought partnership
  • unlock your potential
  • founder journey
  • bespoke advisory
  • scale & transform
F · 06

Bring the messy question

kim@flkadvisors.com

One inbox. Real notes only.

For founder work, workshops, early referrals, or resource collaborations — send a short note with the context and what decision you're trying to make.

One human reads every email. The messier the question, the better the note.

Before you write — checklist F · 06 / a
  • Who you are, in one or two lines.
  • What stage the company is at — pre-product,
    pre-revenue,
    raising,
    post-raise.
  • The actual decision you're trying to make.
  • (Optional) what you've already tried, read, or been told.