Who This Helps
You're a Product Manager who gets asked tough questions in every review. "Why is growth slowing?" "Can we afford that hire?" "Is this pricing safe?" You need answers that turn into decisions—not more slides.
Mini Case
Meet Ben. Revenue is up 12% this quarter, but cash is flat. His team wants to hire two engineers. Stakeholders are nervous. Ben uses the Founder Finance Basics Mission Pack to build a one-page unit economics truth. He finds his CAC payback is 14 months—way over the 7-day safe zone. He pauses hiring, shifts budget to a high-retention channel, and shows a clear runway forecast. Stakeholders approve his plan in one meeting.
Do This Now (5 Steps)
- Grab your unit economics snapshot. Pull your last 3 months of revenue, cost per customer, and churn. Write them on one page.
- Run a CAC payback triage. For each channel, divide customer acquisition cost by monthly gross profit. If payback is over 12 months, flag it.
- Model one pricing scenario. Pick your most emotional pricing decision. Set a floor price and a stop rule (e.g., "if conversion drops below 3%, revert").
- Forecast your runway. Take your current cash, subtract monthly burn, and divide. That's your runway in months. Share it in your next standup.
- Write a one-page fundraising readiness memo. List your top 3 risks and how you'd fix each. This turns questions into confidence.
Avoid These Traps
- Don't confuse revenue growth with cash health. Revenue up 12% doesn't mean you're safe.
- Don't use average CAC. Channel-level payback is the real story.
- Don't skip the stop rules. Pricing changes need a clear "when to bail" number.
- Don't present data without a decision. Every slide should end with "so we should..."
- Don't overcomplicate the runway. A simple forecast beats a complex model no one trusts.
- Don't ignore churn. A 5% monthly churn kills growth faster than low revenue.
- Don't wait for perfect data. Use your best guess and update weekly.
- Don't forget to celebrate small wins. A clean unit economics card is a win.
Your Win by Friday
By Friday, you'll have a one-page unit economics snapshot, a channel-level CAC triage, a pricing scenario with stop rules, a runway forecast you can explain in 30 seconds, and a fundraising readiness memo. Stakeholders will see you as the PM who turns questions into approved execution. And you'll sleep better knowing your numbers are real.