Category season file
Customer signals and product focus.
posts in this decision room
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Gross revenue retention (GRR) shows how much recurring revenue you keep from existing customers, ignoring upsells. See the formula, an example and how to raise it.
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Founder-led sales means the founders close the first customers themselves. Learn why it matters before product-market fit, how the process works and when to hand it off.
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Net new MRR is new plus expansion MRR minus contraction and churned MRR. See the formula, an MRR waterfall with real numbers and why gross adds can mislead.
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The lean startup method is a way to build a company by running small experiments through the build-measure-learn loop instead of betting everything on a plan. Validated learning, innovation accounting, pivot or persevere, and how to apply it on a tight runway.
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An ideal customer profile (ICP) describes the customers you can win, keep and grow most profitably. Learn how to define one from data, with a worked example.
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What is a north star metric, and how do you pick the right one? A practical guide to choosing a single number that tracks customer value, with examples, common traps and how it connects to runway.
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Product-led growth vs sales-led growth: how each motion acquires customers, what it does to CAC, burn and runway, and how to pick one for your stage and business model.
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Cohort analysis for startups explained: build a retention table, read the curve and catch the churn that blended averages hide, with a worked numeric example.
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Startup pricing strategy is the choice of what to charge, to whom and how. Compare cost-plus, competitor and value-based pricing, test willingness to pay, and see how price moves runway.
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The business model canvas explained for startups: what each of the 9 blocks asks, how to fill one in, and how to turn a canvas into hypotheses you can test.
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How to validate a startup idea before you write code: find the riskiest assumption, run customer discovery interviews, ask for commitment instead of opinions, and set kill thresholds in advance.
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ARPU (average revenue per user) is revenue divided by the number of users or customers in a period. Learn the formula, how it differs from ARPA and LTV, and how to raise it.
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Winning a hackathon proves your team can build fast — not that anyone needs the product. Six decisions to make in the weeks after the event, from who stays on the team to how you test demand, plus tips for organisers running a founder track.
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Vibe coding lets you ship an app in a weekend — but shipping isn't demand. A 30-day validation plan for vibe coders, the three signals that matter and when a side project deserves to become a startup.
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A startup pivot is a structured change of strategy — customer, problem, product, or business model — made because the evidence says the current path isn't working. What counts as a pivot, five signals it's time, and how to decide before your runway decides for you.
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An MVP (minimum viable product) is the smallest version of a product that tests a real customer problem before you build the rest. The definition, four common MVP types, real examples, and how to avoid the most common building mistakes.
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TAM SAM SOM is the three-layer method for sizing a market: everyone who could buy, everyone you can actually reach, and the slice you'll realistically win. Here's how to calculate each one, with a full worked example.
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PMF is the point where your product meets real, repeating market demand. The definition, four measurable signals, the Sean Ellis test, and the false positives that fool founders.
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Churn rate, retention curves, and NRR: the formulas, B2B SaaS benchmarks, and exactly how churn shortens your runway — with worked numbers.
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Avoid false PMF signals by reading retention, repeat usage, and willingness to pay together.
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The LTV:CAC ratio in plain formulas: how to calculate CAC and LTV, healthy benchmarks by stage, and why payback period matters more than the ratio.
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Net revenue retention (NRR) shows how much recurring revenue existing customers generate a year later. Formula, example, benchmarks and how to raise it.