When pitching to investors, your business model slide needs to spotlight the right metrics. These metrics should showcase your company's sustainability, scalability, and growth potential. Here's what to include:

👨🏼‍💻 Efficiency metrics

• LTV/CAC ratio

This measures the total revenue a customer generates during their lifetime compared to the cost of acquiring them. 

Investors like to see an LTV/CAC ratio of 5 or higher. A high LTV/CAC means that for every dollar spent on acquiring customers, the return is much higher. This boosts margins and future cash flow, which positively impacts valuation.

• CAC payback period

This is the time it takes to recover the cost of acquiring a customer. 

Investors prefer a payback period of less than 12 months. A shorter period means you get your money back quicker, allowing for faster reinvestment in growth.

• Profit margins and economies of scale

Profit margins show the percentage of revenue that exceeds production costs. Economies of scale refer to cost advantages when production becomes more efficient. High-profit margins and economies of scale mean your business can grow profitably, making it more attractive to investors.

• Magic number (for revenue-generating companies)

This metric shows how effectively your company uses its sales and marketing expenses to generate new revenue. A higher magic number suggests you’re spending marketing dollars efficiently, leading to better growth and profitability.

🪸 Engagement and growth metrics

• Churn rate

This is the percentage of customers who stop using your product over a given period. 

Investors look for a churn rate of ideally less than 10% annually and definitely not higher than 20%. Low churn rates indicate strong customer retention and satisfaction, which are vital for sustainable growth.

• Active users (MAU, DAU, average time spent)

These metrics track monthly active users (MAU), daily active users (DAU), and the average time users spend on your platform. They help investors assess product-market fit and user engagement, showing whether your product delivers on its promise.

• Cohort usage patterns

This analyzes user behavior over time, segmented by groups that started using your product at the same time. It gives depth into how different user groups interact with your product and helps to focus on strengths & areas for improvement.

• Net revenue retention (NRR) and gross revenue retention (GRR)

NRR measures revenue growth from existing customers, including upgrades, cross-sells, and expansions. GRR measures revenue retained from existing customers, excluding new revenue from upgrades. 

Investors expect GRR > 90% and NRR > 105%. NRR over 100% means you’re not just retaining customers but growing sales too. High GRR shows strong upselling and solid customer retention, key indicators of business health and growth potential.

🧚🏻‍♀️ Extra tips

• Focus on metrics that look good. If growth metrics are strong but efficiency metrics are not, emphasize growth.

• If planning to expand revenue streams, show a today-tomorrow perspective and explain growth drivers (e.g., average order value (AOV), annual contract value (ACV), monthly recurring revenue (MRR)).

• For B2B companies with fluctuating trends due to large customer signings, you have to show cumulative growth or quarter-over-quarter (Q/Q) growth. If data is jumpy, use 3-month or 6-month rolling averages.