Who This Helps
This is for founder-operators who feel stuck. You have a dozen ideas but no clear signal on which one to test next. The Founder Finance Basics Mission Pack helps you cut through the noise with compact evidence, so you can make faster decisions.
Mini Case
Ben's revenue was up 15% last month, but his cash balance was flat. He was spinning his wheels on three different growth experiments. By building a one-page unit economics snapshot, he saw his blended CAC was $120, but his LTV was only $300. The real problem? One new channel had a CAC of $450, silently eating all his profit. He paused that channel and focused on improving his core product's retention, which took his LTV to $400 in 60 days. Cash started growing again.
Do This Now (5 Steps)
- Grab your last month's revenue, marketing spend, and new customer count.
- Calculate your simple Customer Acquisition Cost: total marketing spend / new customers.
- Find your average customer lifetime value: average monthly revenue per customer * average months they stay.
- Put these two numbers side-by-side on a single slide or doc. That's your snapshot.
- Ask: Is my LTV at least 3x my CAC? If not, your next experiment must fix that ratio before spending more.
Avoid These Traps
- Don't use blended averages for all channels. One bad channel can hide in the mix.
- Don't get fancy with complex models. A simple, wrong number you understand is better than a perfect, confusing one.
- Don't ignore cash collection time. A great LTV:CAC ratio means little if you run out of cash waiting for payments.
- Don't prioritize a new feature over fixing a broken unit economic. Growth on a bad model just burns money faster.
- Don't let perfect data stop you. Use your best estimates and update them weekly. Your gut is a terrible spreadsheet.
Your Win by Friday
By Friday, you'll have a one-page unit economics truth. You'll know if your next experiment should aim to lower acquisition cost, increase customer value, or improve retention. You'll stop debating and start testing the one thing that actually moves your numbers. You got this.