Business Growth
Unit Economics for Founders: The Four Numbers That Decide Growth
7 April 2026 7 min read
Contribution margin, acquisition cost, repeat rate and payback period tell you whether growth will make you richer or poorer.
Key takeaways
- Growth on negative contribution margin accelerates failure.
- Repeat rate is the cheapest lever most businesses ignore.
- Know your payback period before you raise spend.
Contribution margin
Revenue per order minus all variable costs — product, payment fees, delivery, packaging, commissions. If this is negative, every marketing naira makes the problem larger.
Customer acquisition cost
Total sales and marketing spend divided by new customers, including salaries and tools. Blended and channel-level views tell different stories; track both.
Repeat rate and lifetime value
A ten percentage-point improvement in ninety-day repeat rate frequently outperforms any acquisition optimisation available to you, and it costs far less to achieve.
Payback period
How many months until a customer returns their acquisition cost in margin? This number, more than any other, determines how fast you can safely grow.
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