You've heard the stories about companies getting funded based on a sketch on the back of a napkin. If your name is Ev Williams or if that napkin sketch is as compelling as Amazon's, you may have a shot.

On this blog, we write a lot about the importance of storytelling for a company. No matter who you are talking to – team members, investors, potential investors – company storytelling doesn't stop, it simply changes contexts and mediums. A financial model is one of those mediums through which your company can tell its story, even without the operational history one might assume would be necessary to persuade investors or make smart decisions about the direction of the business.

"Financial models are the Lingua Franca of investors. But they should also be the map and the Lingua Franca of your management discussions." If you have taken the time to thoughtfully prepare your assumptions around the future of your business, your most critical conversations will be more productive and you give yourself a strong advantage in the daily battle for capital and talent.