TOPIC · COMMERCIAL PERFORMANCE
Unit Economics
Unit economics are board-pack math: defensibly true, executable now, the floor of every valuation conversation.
WHO THIS IS FOR
The seat at the table this shelf serves.
CFOs preparing for institutional capital, PE diligence teams pressure-testing a target.
RELATED SERVICE PATHS
Where this topic becomes operating work.
View all servicesTAS · SERVICE
Transaction Advisory Services
Operator-led buy-side and sell-side diligence for technology middle-market deals. Financial rigor, technical diligence, and integration risk in one workstream.
VAL · SERVICE
Valuations
Credible valuation work for SaaS, services, IP, ARR/MRR, cap tables, and exit readiness in technology middle-market transactions.
OCFO · SERVICE
Office of the CFO
ARR waterfalls, board reporting, FP&A, unit economics, forecast accuracy, and finance infrastructure for technology companies scaling or preparing for exit.
IB · SERVICE
Investment Banking
Sell-side readiness, capital raise preparation, data-room cleanup, and operating narrative for technology companies preparing for buyers or investors.
TOPIC
91 briefs in unit economics.
Field notes grouped by the operating constraint they address.
BRIEF · 6 MIN
How to Price a Generative AI Build: Why One Number Wrecks Your Margin
Quoting one fixed number for a generative AI build means absorbing the client's data debt and uncapped inference costs. Here's the three-layer pricing fix.
BRIEF · 6 MIN
When AI Makes Your Consultants Faster, Who Keeps the Money?
If your firm sells time and AI cuts the hours, the savings go to the client, not your margin. How services leaders fix the realization leak before scaling GenAI.
BRIEF · 6 MIN
The 2026 Project Margin Benchmarks for Consulting Engagements
Discover the 2026 project margin benchmarks for consulting firms. Learn why blending strategy and implementation margins is destroying your EBITDA and valuation.
BRIEF · 6 MIN
Realization Rate Benchmarks: Why Your 'Invoiced vs. Delivered' Gap Is Killing Your EBITDA
Diagnostic guide for PE sponsors and founders on realization rate benchmarks. Discover why 11% of billable hours are written down and how to bridge the gap between delivered and invoiced time.
BRIEF · 6 MIN
Why 85% Utilization Is a Valuation Trap: 2026 Professional Services Benchmarks by Role
Pushing professional services utilization above 85% destroys EBITDA. Justin Leader breaks down 2026 bench utilization benchmarks by role to protect your valuation.
BRIEF · 6 MIN
The Gross Margin Reality Check: PLG, Hybrid, and Sales-Led Unit Economics
Discover why hybrid and PLG sales motions are dragging down B2B SaaS gross margins, and how to re-architect your COGS to protect your 2026 exit valuation.
BRIEF · 6 MIN
The Concentration Cliff: What Your Top-10 Accounts Are Doing to Your SaaS Valuation at Every Stage
The exact top-10 customer ARR concentration a $10M-$50M SaaS company can carry at each stage before buyers apply a 15-20% valuation haircut, and how to fix it.
BRIEF · 6 MIN
Sales Productivity Per Rep: ARR-per-AE Benchmarks 2026
Discover why the $1M ARR per AE quota is weakening SaaS unit economics in 2026, and learn the new unit economics benchmarks private equity buyers actually trust.
BRIEF · 6 MIN
SaaS Quick Ratio Benchmarks: Why Healthy Growth Still Needs Efficiency
A 4.0 SaaS Quick Ratio can still hide expensive growth. Learn how to separate expansion ARR, new-logo ARR, contraction, churn, and CAC payback.
BRIEF · 6 MIN
Customer Acquisition by Channel: Why Organic ROI is Crushing Paid for B2B SaaS
Discover why relying on paid search in 2026 creates a 42% margin penalty for B2B SaaS, and how to pivot to a high-ROI organic customer acquisition engine.
BRIEF · 6 MIN
SaaS vs. Services vs. Hybrid: What a "14-Month" CAC Payback Is Hiding in 2026
2026 CAC payback benchmarks for SaaS (21.4 mo), services (4.2 mo), and hybrid models — and why one blended number hides a cash trough acquirers will find.
BRIEF · 6 MIN
The LTV/CAC Ratio Lie: Traps That Flatter Your Metric and Kill Your Valuation
Discover the hidden traps inflating your LTV/CAC ratio. Learn how PE firms adjust gross margins, fully burden CAC, and apply cohort churn to reveal true SaaS unit economics.