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 is about the two numbers that decide whether your business survives — and why the way most founders calculate them is wrong.
Last year, a founder pitched me his startup. His revenue chart looked perfect. Up and to the right, every quarter. I asked one question: what is your LTV:CAC ratio?
Endorsed by the CEO of Delivery Hero · Used by founders managing €150M+ in capital
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Free tools
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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. Use the calculator to see where your business sits.
Star
Product-market fit with efficient acquisition. Scale before the channel saturates.
Trap
Cheap customers who don't stick. Fix retention before spending more on acquisition.
Burn
Valuable customers at unsustainable cost. Find a cheaper path to the same customer.
Bootstrap
Every customer costs more than they're worth. Either the product or the segment needs to change.
Who wrote this
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.
"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, Delivery Hero
"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
What's inside the book
The first four chapters are free to read.
Why blended metrics lie
Headline LTV and CAC numbers hide the truth. Why segment-level reporting is the only way to see your real unit economics.
Chapter 1The LTV deep-dive
What lifetime value actually measures, why most founders calculate it wrong, and how to fix it in an afternoon.
Chapter 2The CAC deep-dive
All-in CAC, blended vs. paid, and the costs founders forget. The full breakdown — channel by channel.
A book by Lech Kaniuk
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