Who This Helps
This is for you, Junior Analyst. You want to stop guessing and start shipping analysis that actually moves the needle. The Founder Finance Basics Mission Pack is your toolkit for making calm, data-backed decisions.
Mini Case
Meet Ben. Revenue is up 15% month over month, but cash is flat. He needs a one-page unit economics truth. You run the numbers: customer acquisition cost is $120, lifetime value is $300. That's a 2.5x ratio—healthy, but not great. Your recommendation? Cut the least efficient channel (paid social, 12% conversion) and reallocate budget to email (30% conversion). Ben says yes. You just saved the company $5,000 this month.
Do This Now (5 Steps)
- Grab your data. Pull last 30 days of revenue, costs, and customer counts.
- Calculate unit economics. Revenue per customer minus cost per customer. Aim for 3x or better.
- Identify the bottleneck. Is it acquisition cost, retention, or pricing? Use the CAC Payback Triage mission from the course.
- Run a scenario. What if you increase pricing by 10%? Model it with the Pricing Scenario Guardrails mission.
- Write one clear recommendation. Example: "Shift 20% of paid social budget to email to improve payback period from 8 months to 5 months."
Avoid These Traps
- Don't overcomplicate. Three numbers are better than ten. Focus on revenue, cost, and payback period.
- Don't ignore cash. Revenue is vanity, cash is sanity. Always check runway.
- Don't recommend without a number. "Improve efficiency" is vague. "Reduce CAC by 15%" is actionable.
- Don't forget the human. Ben needs a number he can explain to investors. Keep it simple.
- Don't skip the stress test. What if revenue drops 20%? Run the Runway Forecast mission to see.
- Don't assume one channel is forever. Test, learn, and reallocate every 2 weeks.
- Don't hide bad news. If unit economics are ugly, say it. Then offer a fix.
- Don't wait for perfect data. 80% accuracy today beats 100% next week.
Your Win by Friday
By Friday, you'll have a one-page unit economics snapshot card. It shows revenue per customer, cost per customer, payback period, and your top recommendation. Ben will use it to decide where to spend next month's budget. You'll feel like a hero—and honestly, you'll be one. That's the power of shipping clean analysis with clear recommendations.