LTV/CAC & Payback

Efficiency ratio linking acquisition spend to lifetime value; target thresholds by stage, sensitivity to retention and margin, CAC payback period benchmarks, rule-of-40 style blended metrics.

1 resources on this topic

Why Do Investors Care So Much About LTV : CAC?

Business Models

Jamie Sullivan and Alex Immerman use data from 60+ public tech companies to explain how each turn of the LTV:CAC ratio flows through to margins, reinvestment capacity, and ultimately valuation. A clear, numbers-backed argument for why every startup needs to understand their unit economics.

Jamie Sullivan & Alex Immerman May 25, 2025

ltv-cac metrics investors valuation