CAC
Also: Customer Acquisition Cost
The fully-loaded cost of acquiring one customer — sales and marketing spend divided by new customers won.
Cheap to ignore early, expensive to ignore at scale; rising CAC is often the first sign a channel is tapping out.
Hear it from people who've done it
Get the real-world version of "CAC" drawn from hundreds of conversations with founders and investors.
Ask the Network →Episodes on Sales & GTM
Pick My Brain with Alan Jones · 19 August 2026
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Pick My Brain with Alan Jones · 12 August 2026
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Pick My Brain with Alan Jones · 29 July 2026
How Do You Sell Software to an Industry That Won't Change? Mitchell Baker on Claimstack
LTV
The total gross profit you expect from a customer across their whole relationship with you.
LTV:CAC ratio
Lifetime value divided by acquisition cost — a quick read on whether your growth engine is profitable.
Payback period
How many months of a customer's gross profit it takes to earn back what you spent acquiring them.
Gross margin
Revenue left after the direct cost of delivering your product, as a percentage.
Product-led growth
A motion where the product itself drives acquisition and expansion — free trials, self-serve sign-up, viral loops.
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