StretchLearn Course

Know Whether Growth Makes Money, One Unit at a Time

The contribution-margin, CAC, LTV, and payback-period math that decides whether your business model actually scales.

Beginner10 hrSelf PacedRegistered

Course Overview

What this course is designed to develop

This course takes a business owner from a fuzzy sense of their margins to a precise, decision-ready unit-economics model. You will define the right unit, separate variable from fixed costs, calculate true contribution margin, measure fully loaded CAC, project lifetime value from gross margin and churn, and judge growth with payback period and the LTV:CAC ratio. Every concept is taught with named tools, real benchmarks, and worked examples across SaaS, ecommerce, and service models so you can pull the levers that actually move profit.

Learning Outcomes

What the learner should be able to understand, build, or execute.

Define the correct unit of analysis for any business and separate variable from fixed costs

Calculate contribution margin per unit and contribution-margin percentage from a real P&L

Measure fully loaded customer acquisition cost (CAC) by channel and blended across the business

Project customer lifetime value (LTV) using gross margin, retention, and churn rate

Evaluate a business model with CAC payback period and the LTV:CAC ratio against industry benchmarks

Identify and pull the specific levers that improve unit economics and decide when scaling is profitable

Curriculum Preview

Inside the curriculum: a structured path from fundamentals to execution.

Preview the course structure, see how the modules build on one another, and understand the path this program is designed to take you through.

Module 1

Module 1: What Unit Economics Are and Why They Decide Your Fate

Understand what unit economics measure, how to pick the right unit, and why a profitable-looking business can still scale itself into bankruptcy.

3 lessons

The Core Idea: Profit per Unit, Not Just Total ProfitContent · 45 min

Preview Enabled

Choosing the Right Unit for Your BusinessContent · 45 min

LMS Access

How Profitable Businesses Still Go BrokeContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 2

Module 2: Contribution Margin: The Foundation of Every Decision

Separate variable from fixed costs, calculate contribution margin per unit, and use it to find your break-even and price for profit.

3 lessons

Variable Costs, Fixed Costs, and Gross MarginContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Calculating Contribution Margin Per UnitContent · 50 min

LMS Access

From Contribution Margin to Break-EvenContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Module 3

Module 3: CAC, LTV, and the Two Numbers That Decide Growth

Measure the fully loaded cost to acquire a customer and the lifetime value they deliver, the two halves of the growth equation.

3 lessons

Calculating Customer Acquisition Cost HonestlyContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Projecting Lifetime Value From Margin and ChurnContent · 55 min

LMS Access

Cohort Analysis: Watching Value Build Over TimeContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Module 4

Module 4: Putting It Together: Ratios, Levers, and the Decision to Scale

Combine CAC and LTV into payback period and the LTV:CAC ratio, benchmark them, and pull the levers that make scaling profitable.

3 lessons

Payback Period and the LTV:CAC RatioContent · 55 min

LMS Access

The Levers That Improve Unit EconomicsContent · 55 min

LMS Access

The Decision: When to Scale and When to WaitContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Built for Application

A complete learning path, not a one-off inspiration hit.

This program is designed around progression: focused lessons, structured modules, applied resources, assessments, and a course rhythm that turns information into usable capability.

unit economicscontribution marginCACLTVpayback periodgross marginbusiness financeSaaS metrics