Unit Economics
CAC, LTV, payback, and contribution margin per school and per slot
Scenario
Y1 CAC
-
0 new schools · S&M 476,295
Y1 LTV / School
$5,016,176
20.0yr retention × 65% GM
LTV / CAC (Y1)
0.0x
Target ≥ 3.0x
Payback (Y1)
0.0 mo
Months to recover CAC
Cohort & Unit Economics
| FY2026 | FY2027 | FY2028 | FY2029 | FY2030 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scale | |||||
| Total Schools (EoY) | 68 | 85 | 105 | 122 | 136 |
| New Schools Signed | - | 17 | 20 | 17 | 14 |
| Acquisition Cost | |||||
| S&M Spend | 476,295 | 603,834 | 786,686 | 790,974 | 814,704 |
| CAC (S&M ÷ New Schools) | - | 35,520 | 39,334 | 46,528 | 58,193 |
| Value per School | |||||
| Revenue / School | 383,162 | 374,647 | 366,976 | 379,008 | 405,157 |
| Gross Margin | 65.5% | 67.7% | 69.7% | 71.6% | 73.4% |
| Contribution / School | 250,809 | 253,471 | 255,834 | 271,526 | 297,572 |
| LTV / School (× 20.0yr retention) | 5,016,176 | 5,069,412 | 5,116,676 | 5,430,527 | 5,951,440 |
| Efficiency Ratios | |||||
| LTV / CAC | 0.0x | 142.7x | 130.1x | 116.7x | 102.3x |
| Payback (months) | 0.0x | 1.7x | 1.8x | 2.1x | 2.3x |
| Per-Slot Contribution | |||||
| Slots Available | 45,000 | 50,000 | 55,000 | 60,000 | 65,000 |
| Contribution / Slot | 379 | 431 | 488 | 552 | 623 |
Methodology
- CAC = total S&M spend ÷ new schools signed in the year. Includes salaried BD headcount allocated to S&M plus marketing opex.
- LTV = (revenue per school × gross margin) × retention years. Retention derived from renewal rate: 1 / (1 − renewal).
- Payback = CAC ÷ monthly contribution per school. Target < 18 months for enterprise-motion SaaS.
- Contribution per slot spreads school-level economics across the annual placement base — useful for capacity investment decisions.