This is a common tension. Retainer + working capital structures require meaningful upfront capital, and if that allocation compresses your operational runway below 12 months, you are trading liquidity quality for existential risk. Several strategies can help navigate this:
- Right-size the engagement: You do not need to over-allocate. Size your working capital deposit to match realistic depth targets for your initial exchange footprint, not aspirational ones. A smaller, well-calibrated allocation outperforms an oversized one that drains your treasury.
- Negotiate payment terms: Monthly retainers can sometimes be deferred or structured with performance-linked milestones to ease cash flow pressure.
- Phase the deployment: Start with one exchange and scale as revenue or token performance creates additional resources.
- Reassess your exchange strategy: If supporting multiple exchanges simultaneously would overextend your treasury, prioritize one or two venues where liquidity will have the most strategic impact.
The key principle: Never compromise operational viability for liquidity optics. A project that runs out of runway cannot benefit from any market making structure.
If you're navigating treasury constraints while structuring a market making engagement, book a consultation — Forgd's advisory team can help model the tradeoffs.