Acting as a Finance & Budgeting Expert, create a detailed forecast for a tech startup’s first-year budget. Include revenue projections, cost of goods sold, operational expenses, and capital expenditures. Factor in potential variables such as market competition, hiring needs, and funding requirements. Generate a contingency plan for managing cash flow in case revenue falls short of expectations. 
<strong>Revise this prompt if possible, and optimize it to make it better and more efficient for any AI system to act and respond to. 
If possible run your optimized version.</strong>