{"skill":{"slug":"afrexai-unit-economics","displayName":"Unit Economics Analyzer","summary":"Calculates and benchmarks key unit economics metrics like CAC, LTV, payback period, and contribution margin with segment and scenario analysis.","description":"# Unit Economics Analyzer\n\nBreak down your business to the numbers that actually matter. This skill calculates and benchmarks your unit economics — CAC, LTV, payback period, contribution margin — so you know exactly which customers make you money and which ones burn it.\n\n## What It Does\n\nWhen activated, the agent will:\n\n1. **Calculate Core Metrics**\n   - Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) — fully loaded (ads + sales salaries + tools + overhead)\n   - Lifetime Value (LTV) — using both simple and DCF methods\n   - LTV:CAC Ratio — the single number investors care about most\n   - CAC Payback Period — months to recover acquisition spend\n   - Contribution Margin — per unit and per customer\n\n2. **Benchmark Against Industry**\n   | Metric | Healthy SaaS | Marketplace | E-commerce | Services |\n   |--------|-------------|-------------|------------|----------|\n   | LTV:CAC | 3:1 – 5:1 | 2:1 – 4:1 | 1.5:1 – 3:1 | 4:1 – 8:1 |\n   | CAC Payback | 12-18 mo | 6-12 mo | 1-3 mo | 3-6 mo |\n   | Gross Margin | 70-85% | 40-65% | 30-50% | 50-70% |\n   | Net Revenue Retention | 110-130% | 100-115% | 80-100% | 90-110% |\n\n3. **Segment Analysis**\n   - Break unit economics by customer segment, channel, plan tier, geography\n   - Identify which segments are profitable and which are subsidized\n   - Flag \"toxic\" segments where CAC > LTV\n\n4. **Cohort Decay Modeling**\n   - Month-over-month retention curves by acquisition cohort\n   - Revenue decay rate and true LTV (not the optimistic version)\n   - Churn-adjusted LTV using: `LTV = ARPU × Gross Margin / Monthly Churn Rate`\n\n5. **Scenario Planning**\n   - What happens to payback if CAC increases 20%?\n   - Impact of 5% churn reduction on LTV\n   - Break-even analysis: minimum retention rate for profitability\n   - Pricing sensitivity: how price changes flow through to unit economics\n\n## How to Use\n\nTell the agent:\n- \"Analyze my unit economics\" — walks through full calculation\n- \"My CAC is $X and monthly churn is Y%\" — gets specific benchmarks\n- \"Compare my SaaS unit economics to benchmarks\" — industry comparison\n- \"Model what happens if we cut churn by 3%\" — scenario analysis\n- \"Break down unit economics by customer segment\" — segmentation\n\n## Required Inputs\n\nProvide what you have (the agent will estimate what's missing):\n\n**Revenue side:**\n- Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) — monthly or annual\n- Gross margin percentage\n- Monthly or annual churn rate\n- Expansion revenue rate (upsells, cross-sells)\n\n**Cost side:**\n- Total sales & marketing spend (monthly/quarterly)\n- New customers acquired in same period\n- Customer success/support costs per account\n- Onboarding costs per customer\n\n## Formulas Reference\n\n```\nCAC = Total Sales & Marketing Spend / New Customers Acquired\n\nLTV (Simple) = ARPU × Gross Margin% / Monthly Churn Rate\n\nLTV (DCF) = Σ (Monthly Revenue × Gross Margin%) / (1 + Discount Rate)^month\n\nLTV:CAC Ratio = LTV / CAC  [Target: >3:1]\n\nPayback Period = CAC / (ARPU × Gross Margin%)  [months]\n\nContribution Margin = (Revenue - Variable Costs) / Revenue\n\nMagic Number = Net New ARR / Prior Quarter S&M Spend  [Target: >0.75]\n\nBurn Multiple = Net Burn / Net New ARR  [Target: <2x]\n```\n\n## Red Flags Dashboard\n\n| Signal | Threshold | Action |\n|--------|-----------|--------|\n| LTV:CAC below 1:1 | Losing money on every customer | Stop acquiring, fix retention or pricing |\n| LTV:CAC below 3:1 | Unsustainable at scale | Reduce CAC or increase retention |\n| Payback > 24 months | Cash flow risk | Accelerate monetization or cut acquisition |\n| Gross margin < 50% | Service business, not software | Re-examine delivery costs |\n| Net retention < 100% | Revenue shrinking without new sales | Fix product-market fit |\n| CAC trending up > 15% QoQ | Channel saturation | Diversify acquisition channels |\n| Magic Number < 0.5 | Inefficient growth spend | Pause scaling, optimize |\n\n## Output Format\n\nThe agent produces:\n- **Executive Summary** — 3-line verdict on business health\n- **Metrics Table** — all calculated values with industry benchmarks\n- **Segment Breakdown** — if data provided, per-segment P&L\n- **Scenario Matrix** — sensitivity analysis on key variables\n- **Action Items** — prioritized list of improvements with expected impact\n\n---\n\n## Get the Full Context\n\nThis skill gives you the framework. For industry-specific unit economics benchmarks, valuation context, and implementation playbooks:\n\n→ **[AI Agent Context Packs](https://afrexai-cto.github.io/context-packs/)** — $47 per industry. SaaS, Fintech, Healthcare, E-commerce, and 6 more.\n\n→ **[AI Revenue Leak Calculator](https://afrexai-cto.github.io/ai-revenue-calculator/)** — Free. Find where your business is losing money.\n\n→ **[Agent Setup Wizard](https://afrexai-cto.github.io/agent-setup/)** — Free. Configure your AI agent in 5 minutes.\n\n**Bundles:**\n- Pick 3 Packs — $97 (save $44)\n- All 10 Packs — $197 (save $273)\n- Everything Bundle — $247 (all packs + playbook + setup)\n","topics":["Business"],"tags":{"cac":"1.0.0","financial analysis":"1.0.0","latest":"1.0.0","ltv":"1.0.0","saas metrics":"1.0.0","unit economics":"1.0.0"},"stats":{"comments":0,"downloads":950,"installsAllTime":36,"installsCurrent":1,"stars":0,"versions":1},"createdAt":1771328609670,"updatedAt":1778491563795},"latestVersion":{"version":"1.0.0","createdAt":1771328609670,"changelog":"Initial release: Powerful tool for analyzing and benchmarking business unit economics.\n\n- Calculates CAC, LTV (simple & DCF), payback period, contribution margin, and more.\n- Benchmarks your metrics against top industry standards (SaaS, marketplace, e-commerce, services).\n- Breaks down unit economics by customer segment, channel, tier, and geography.\n- Models retention, revenue decay, and churn-adjusted LTV using cohort analysis.\n- Runs scenario planning on key variables like CAC, churn, retention, and pricing.\n- Surfaces actionable red flags and improvement opportunities via an executive summary and prioritized action items.","license":null},"metadata":null,"owner":{"handle":"1kalin","userId":"s17e1q0nx23qnh4n429zzqc05x83hvsw","displayName":"1kalin","image":"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/15705344?v=4"},"moderation":null}