Guides7 min read
Unit Economics Due Diligence Checklist
Validate LTV, CAC, payback, margins, cohorts, and cash requirements before investing, fundraising, or approving a growth budget.
Lech Kaniuk
Deep dives into the metrics, frameworks, and strategies that separate thriving businesses from struggling ones.
Want to run the numbers? Calculate your LTV or explore the Value Driver Framework.
Get new posts on unit economics, benchmarks, and startup metrics.
Validate LTV, CAC, payback, margins, cohorts, and cash requirements before investing, fundraising, or approving a growth budget.
Build an investor-ready unit economics slide with LTV, CAC, payback, assumptions, cohort evidence, and a free PowerPoint export.
Standard SaaS LTV and CAC formulas don't work for marketplaces. Learn why two-sided businesses need different unit economics — with real examples from…
Learn how to calculate customer acquisition cost for two-sided marketplaces. Per-side formulas, the combined two-sided CAC formula, worked examples, a…
Calculate Customer Lifetime Value for marketplaces with the right formula. Covers take-rate LTV, cohort analysis, contribution margins, supply-side me…
A good LTV:CAC ratio is between 3:1 and 5:1. See benchmarks by industry and stage, why 3:1 can be misleading, and how to improve your ratio.
Learn how to calculate your true fully-loaded CAC. Step-by-step formula, common mistakes, and why most founders underestimate CAC by 2-3x.
Calculate Customer Lifetime Value with 3 proven formulas for SaaS, e-commerce, and subscription businesses. Step-by-step with examples.
The best books on unit economics, LTV, CAC, and startup growth metrics. Curated for founders, CFOs, and growth operators by Lech Kaniuk.
2026 CAC benchmarks for SaaS, e-commerce, fintech, and AI startups. Fully-loaded customer acquisition cost data by company stage, channel, and busines…
Standard unit economics breaks for AI companies. Variable compute costs, token pricing, and GPU infrastructure change how LTV and CAC work.
Learn what the LTV:CAC ratio is, how to calculate it, and what good vs. dangerous ratios look like. Includes benchmarks for SaaS, e-commerce, and B2B.
A 3:1 LTV:CAC ratio means nothing if it takes 24 months to recover. Learn why payback period is the metric that separates sustainable growth from cash…
From using revenue instead of gross margin to blending channel performance — these are the mistakes that make smart companies look profitable while th…