LTV-CAC Book

    The Two Numbers That Build or Break Every Business

    Most founders calculate a blended LTV:CAC ratio that hides where they're actually losing money.

    This book shows you how to calculate the two numbers properly, find the channels and customers that lose money, and decide what to change.

    Read 3 chapters free

    PDF + EPUB, delivered by email. Hardcover €25 · Refund policy

    Endorsed by the CEO of Delivery Hero · Used by founders managing €150M+ in capital

    "Working with LTV and CAC has been the key foundation to enable us to grow our business to a global leader in online food ordering."
    Niklas Östberg, Co-founder and CEO, Delivery Hero

    What the book helps you do

    • Calculate unit economics you can defend

      LTV and CAC built from margin, churn and fully loaded acquisition cost, not a blended number that flatters you.

    • Find where you lose money

      Split the numbers by channel and segment so the ones that cost more than they return stop hiding in the average.

    • Decide what to do next

      Pick the actions that move the two numbers, and present them to investors or your team on one slide.

    The slide you walk away with

    The book ends with one slide that shows both numbers and what they mean. The free builder makes it from your own inputs.

    LTV and CAC at a glance

    Example numbers

    LTV

    €1,167

    Lifespan 33.3 months

    CAC

    €300

    Payback 8.6 months

    3.9 : 1

    LTV : CAC ratio

    Inputs: €50 a month per customer, 70% margin, 3% monthly churn, €300 to acquire.

    Build yours in the free slide builder

    Free

    • LTV, CAC, ratio and payback calculators
    • The Two Numbers slide builder
    • The Preface and chapters 1 to 3

    In the book (chapters 4 to 15)

    • Benchmarks and ratios that matter
    • Introducing the Value Lens
    • The LTV-CAC Growth Map
    • The X-Ray
    • Simulation-driven strategy
    • The 90-day installation

    What's inside the book

    15 chapters, 300 pages. The Preface and chapters 1 to 3 are free to read.

    Preface · Free

    Why I wrote this book

    Headline LTV and CAC numbers hide the truth. Why segment-level reporting is the only way to see your real unit economics.

    Chapter 1 · Free

    Why two numbers rule everything

    What lifetime value actually measures, why most founders calculate it wrong, and how to fix it in an afternoon.

    Chapter 2 · Free

    The slide that doesn't exist

    All-in CAC, blended vs. paid, and the costs founders forget. The full breakdown, channel by channel.

    Chapter 3 · Free

    Defining the core metrics

    The definitions the rest of the book runs on, and the ones your board is quietly using differently.

    • Chapter 4Benchmarks and ratios that matter
    • Chapter 5Introducing the Value Lens
    • Chapter 6Understanding and increasing LTV
    • Chapter 7Understanding and reducing CAC
    • Chapter 8The LTV-CAC Growth Map
    • Chapter 9The X-Ray
    • Chapter 10Simulation-driven strategy
    • Chapter 11The 90-day installation
    • Chapter 12The LTV-CAC Operating System
    • Chapter 13Beyond the metrics
    • Chapter 14Tools, templates, and tech
    • Chapter 15Building the Two Numbers Slide
    Read 3 chapters free

    PDF + EPUB, delivered by email. Hardcover €25 · Refund policy

    Free tools

    Bookmark these. No signup required.

    LTV Calculator

    Calculate your customer lifetime value in 60 seconds.

    CAC Calculator

    Know the true cost of acquiring each customer.

    LTV:CAC Ratio

    See if you're building value or burning cash.

    Payback Period

    How long to recover your acquisition investment.

    Quadrant Positioning

    Plot your position on the Growth Map.

    The Growth Map

    The four quadrants from the book. Enter your two numbers and see where your business sits.

    LTV
    CAC
    STARHigh LTV · Low CAC
    BURNHigh LTV · High CAC
    BOOTSTRAPLow LTV · Low CAC
    TRAPLow LTV · High CAC

    Star

    Product-market fit with efficient acquisition. Scale before the channel saturates.

    Burn

    Valuable customers at unsustainable cost. Find a cheaper path to the same customer.

    Trap

    Every new customer looks like progress but bleeds cash. Fix retention or pricing before spending more on acquisition.

    Bootstrap

    Thin margins, but you can survive. Grow monetization or move into higher-value segments.

    Want the full breakdown: payback, segments, and the X-Ray? Open the full Growth Map tool.

    Who wrote this

    "Working with LTV and CAC has been the key foundation to enable us to grow our business to a global leader in online food ordering."

    Niklas Östberg

    Co-founder and CEO, Delivery Hero

    Lech Kaniuk

    Lech Kaniuk executed this system to raise over €150M in capital and achieve successful exits with companies like Delivery Hero, PizzaPortal, iTaxi, and Bean&Buddies.

    This book is the result of 20 years of mistakes and wins, compressed into a single manual for operators. From building PizzaPortal (Glovo) to scaling SunRoof, Lech has identified exactly what separates companies that scale from those that burn out. Read more about his track record, other books and essays for founders at lechkaniuk.com.

    €150M+
    Capital Raised
    7
    Successful Exits
    20+
    Years Experience

    Companies built with this system

    Glovo (PizzaPortal)iTaxiSunRoof

    "The framework completely changed our approach and helped accelerate our business."

    Lucas Klab, AnimalHotels

    "The model forced us to confront the reality of our customer segments. We adjusted our strategy and pivoted based on clear evidence."

    Martyn Szczepankowski, SunRoof

    A book by Lech Kaniuk

    Build the LTV/CAC slide investors expect

    Get access to the free builder, calculate your two numbers, and export a board-ready PowerPoint slide.

    You'll get the slide guide plus 3 short follow-up emails on unit economics, including the book offer. Unsubscribe anytime.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Buying the book

    The ebook costs €9 and comes as both PDF and EPUB, sent by email after checkout. The hardcover costs €25 and ships from Poland.

    The hardcover can be returned within 14 days under EU consumer rules. The ebook is digital content, so it can't be returned once downloaded. If a file doesn't open or a book arrives damaged, reply to your receipt.

    Because I'd rather you read them and decide if the rest is worth €9 than guess from a description. If the free chapters don't convince you, the rest probably won't either.

    Yes. €25, shipped from Poland. See hardcover options →

    About the book

    Pre-seed and seed-stage founders preparing to raise capital, growth-stage operators optimizing unit economics, and VCs evaluating portfolio companies. The frameworks apply to SaaS, e-commerce, fintech, marketplaces, and AI startups.

    Lean Analytics covers broad startup metrics without deep LTV-CAC analysis. Growth Units is a primer on the concepts. This book provides an implementation system: specific frameworks, diagnostic tools, and industry benchmarks from someone who has raised €150M+ and built companies with real unit economics challenges.

    It's a systematic framework for measuring, analyzing, and optimizing the two numbers that determine whether a startup survives or fails: Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) and Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC). The book provides proprietary tools (the Growth Map, the Value Lens, the X-Ray, and LCAP) plus free online calculators.

    A quadrant framework that plots your startup based on LTV and CAC efficiency. The four positions are Star (scale aggressively), Burn (valuable customers at unsustainable cost), Trap (low-value customers at high cost, where most cash-starved startups actually sit), and Bootstrap (thin margins but survivable). Your position determines your strategic playbook.

    Free online calculators for LTV, CAC, LTV:CAC ratio, payback period, and Growth Map positioning. The ebook also includes the full Operating System framework with diagnostic tools and industry benchmarks.

    After you buy

    The ebook comes as both PDF and EPUB. The PDF works on any computer, tablet, or phone. The EPUB works on Kindle, iPad, Kobo, and most e-readers. You get both formats with one purchase.

    Yes. The EPUB format works directly on modern Kindles, and you can also email the PDF to your Kindle's send-to-Kindle address. Both formats are unprotected: no DRM, no account required.

    Reply to your delivery email anytime and the author will resend it. Your purchase is recorded permanently, so you can re-download whenever you need to.

    Get the two numbers right

    Start with the free chapters, or get the whole book now.

    Read 3 chapters free

    PDF + EPUB, delivered by email. Hardcover €25 · Refund policy

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