The CVF Journal
Field notes on capital efficiency, the EBITCAC framework, and the economics of non-dilutive growth for Series A/B SaaS startups.
The Rule of 40 for SaaS: What It Is and How to Use It
The Rule of 40 says SaaS growth rate plus profit margin should total at least 40%. The formula, what counts as profit, benchmarks, and why it shapes valuation and financing.
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Venture Debt vs Equity for SaaS Founders: A Decision Framework
Venture debt or equity? The cost-versus-dilution trade-off, typical terms, a worked comparison, and a simple framework for SaaS founders choosing how to fund growth.
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Net Revenue Retention: How to Calculate It and What Good Looks Like
Net revenue retention measures whether your existing customers grow or shrink over a year. The formula, a worked example, benchmark bands, and why investors weight it most.
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CAC Optimization Strategies for Fund-Backed Companies
The strategies that actually lower customer acquisition cost, with benchmarks, plus how to measure whether it is working and why efficient CAC unlocks non-dilutive financing.
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How CAC Impacts the Valuation of Customer-Based Assets
Customer acquisition cost drives the valuation of customer-based assets through the LTV:CAC ratio, margins, and efficiency. A worked example and the levers that lift value.
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Should You Use a Customer Value Fund? Pros and Cons
A customer value fund finances customer acquisition against future revenue, non-dilutively. The real pros and cons, who it suits, and how to decide whether a CVF fits your stack.
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Understanding Revenue-Based Financing: A Comprehensive Guide for Startups
What revenue-based financing is, how it works, what it really costs, who it suits, leading providers, and how to tell whether RBF fits your startup.
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SaaS Unit Economics: The 7 Metrics That Decide Whether Growth Pays
The seven metrics that decide whether SaaS growth creates value, CAC, LTV, LTV:CAC, payback, gross margin, NRR, and ARPA, with formulas, benchmarks by stage, and why they drive financing.
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Benchmark Pricing Strategy for SaaS: Five Frameworks and When to Use
Five SaaS pricing frameworks compared, value-based, tiered, usage-based, per-seat, and competitor-benchmark, with a worked example of how a price change moves your unit economics.
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Non-Dilutive Financing for SaaS Startups: The 2026 Playbook
A founder playbook to non-dilutive financing for SaaS: revenue-based financing, venture debt, CAC-financing, grants and credit lines, and how to pick the right one.
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LTV:CAC Ratio: How to Calculate It and What Good Looks Like
The LTV:CAC ratio compares what a customer is worth to what they cost to acquire. How to calculate it honestly, what good looks like, and why it decides how you fund growth.
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Fund-of-Funds Structures for Series B Startups: When and Why to Use
A fund-of-funds invests in venture funds, not startups directly. What that layered structure means for a Series B founder, its fees, follow-on capacity, and investor incentives.
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