[Video] 4 Numbers That Make or Break Your Startup (Most Founders Learn Too Late)

Startups Don’t Die from Bad Ideas - They Die from This

Everyone talks about vision, hustle, and unicorn status. But no one tells you the truth: Startups fail because founders ignore the numbers that actually matter.

We’re not talking about vague “growth” or vanity metrics.We’re talking about 4 core financial numbers that either make your company fundable - or make it fall apart silently.

Watch the full video before your next pitch deck — seriously.

4 Numbers That Make or Break Your Startup

Let’s break them down.

1. EBITDA: The Fog-Clearing Profit Signal

What it means: EBITDA = Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization. In plain English: it’s your real operational profit, minus all the accounting fluff.

Why it matters: It tells you if your business works—before taxes, before debt, before distractions.

“EBITDA is like wiping the fog off your financial windshield.”

Example: Netflix operated at a negative EBITDA for years. But by Q1 2025?📈 $7.25 billion in EBITDA. They scaled the model, controlled costs, and unlocked real profit.

2. Free Cash Flow: Your Startup’s Oxygen

What it means: Free Cash Flow (FCF) = cash you keep after covering all expenses and investments.

Why it matters: Because profit is theoretical.Cash is real. And it’s what keeps the lights on when investors ghost you.

Example: Apple’s FCF in 2023?👉 $99.6 billion.That’s how they acquire, dominate, and outlast.

Also: Stripe raised $6.5B in 2023 while already being FCF-positive.Smart founders raise money from a position of power.

Sidebar: Burn Rate + Runway

If your startup burns $50K/month and you have $500K in the bank…You’ve got 10 months to live. That’s your runway.

Quibi raised $1.75B.They lasted 8 months. Burn rate killed them.

Track both:

• Burn Rate = speed of spend

• Runway = time left until you're broke

3. CAC: What It Costs to Win a Customer

Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is how much you pay to get a paying customer.Ads, tools, staff—all of it counts.

If you're spending $300 to get a $30 buyer…You’re in trouble.

Example: Dropbox’s CAC was ~$388.Then they launched a legendary referral program: “Give 500MB, Get 500MB.” Boom. CAC dropped to ~$68—and users exploded.

Real Founder Story: Ben in Austin was paying $92 to get a $29 sale.He redesigned his funnel and cut CAC in half in six weeks.

4. LTV: How Much One Customer Is Really Worth

Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) is the total revenue you’ll earn from one customer over time.

Think: one customer = one money tree 🌳 Nurture it, and it’ll feed you for years.

Why it matters: If your LTV < CAC, you’re scaling failure.

The magic ratio?📊 LTV : CAC > 3:1

Example: Netflix subscribers might pay $15/month—but stay for years.Amazon Prime users? They buy 4x more than non-members.

Raise LTV by:

• Offering upsells

• Boosting retention

• Personalizing your product journey

Bonus: Unit Economics (Don’t Skip This)

Every founder brags about top-line revenue. But very few know if they’re making money per customer.

That’s Unit Economics.

• If it costs $50 to serve a user and you earn $200 from them = win

• If it’s reversed = 🚨 you’re scaling a loss machine

The 4 Numbers That Matter

Metric	Why It Matters
EBITDA	Shows clean operating profit
FCF	Reveals your true cash position
CAC	Tracks how much growth costs
LTV	Measures how much a customer is worth
Unit Economics	Shows if you’re profitable per sale

Final Thought

Money doesn’t follow effort. It follows clarity.

Founders who master these numbers don’t just survive - they scale, fund, and exit.

Before your next pitch… review these 4. Before your next hire… optimize these 4. Before your next “pivot”… ask if you even understand these 4.

👉 Watch the full video at the top 💬 Drop a comment: Which metric are you tracking - or ignoring? 📥 Subscribe for more real-world startup strategy.