Who This Helps
You're a Junior Analyst who crunches numbers but gets stuck when it's time to share them. You want your work to lead to real decisions, not just sit in a spreadsheet. The Founder Finance Basics Mission Pack is built for exactly this moment.
Mini Case
Meet Ben. Revenue is up 20% this quarter, but cash is flat. He needs a one-page unit economics truth. You run the numbers: customer acquisition cost is $120, average order value is $80, and gross margin is 45%. Your analysis shows CAC payback is 3.3 months. Ben can see the problem: growth spend is eating cash. Your recommendation? Pause the paid channel with the highest CAC until payback drops below 2 months.
Do This Now (5 Steps)
- Grab your latest revenue and cost data. Pull the last 3 months of customer acquisition costs and average order values. Write them down.
- Calculate unit economics. Divide CAC by gross profit per customer. That's your payback period. For Ben, it was $120 divided by $36 (80 times 0.45) = 3.3 months.
- Compare to your runway. If payback is longer than your cash runway in months, you have a problem. Ben's runway is 6 months. 3.3 months is okay but not great.
- Pick one channel to fix. Look at each marketing channel. Which one has the highest CAC? That's your first target. Ben's paid search had a CAC of $150.
- Write a one-page memo. State the problem, show the math, and give one clear recommendation. Ben's memo said: "Pause paid search until CAC drops to $100."
Avoid These Traps
- Don't hide the bad news. If payback is 12 months and runway is 6, say it. Ben almost ignored the flat cash trend.
- Don't recommend three things at once. One clear action beats three fuzzy ones. Ben's single recommendation got approved fast.
- Don't forget gross margin. Revenue is not profit. Ben's 45% margin made the payback calculation real.
- Don't skip the context. Explain why this matters now. Ben's cash was flat because growth spend outpaced margin.
Your Win by Friday
By Friday, you'll have a one-page unit economics snapshot that Ben can use to make a calm decision. Your analysis will be clear, your recommendation will be actionable, and you'll feel like the analyst who actually moves the needle. Bonus: you'll know exactly where to look next time cash feels tight.