The Customer Who Looks Great on Paper Might Be Quietly Costing You Money
A founder’s favorite number is usually revenue. It’s the one you put on a slide, the one investors ask about first, the one that makes a Tuesday feel like progress. But revenue only answers one question: how much business is this customer giving you? It says nothing about what that business actually costs you to deliver — in support hours, exceptions, discounts, or the slow bleed of a payment that arrives forty-five days late. For an early-stage team deciding which customers to chase next, that gap between “how much they pay” and “what they’re worth” is exactly where research needs to happen.