Startup Funding Espresso – Startup Metrics in a Down Market

Startup Funding Espresso – Startup Metrics in a Down Market

October 20, 2025 by investor

Startup Metrics in a Down Market Hello, this is Hall T. Martin with the Startup Funding Espresso — your daily shot of startup funding and investing. In an upmarket, startup metrics focus on growth rates, cost of customer acquisition, and scalability factors. In a down market, the startup metrics focus on efficiency. Here’s a list of key startup metrics to use in a down market: Burn multiple. This measures the startup’s efficiency in growth. It’s the net annual burn rate divided by the net new ARR. Rule of 40. This is another efficiency metric. The growth rate and profitability added together should reach 40. Customer payback period. This calculates the number of months to pay back the cost of acquiring a customer. It’s calculated by taking the cost of customer acquisition and dividing it by the monthly revenue from that customer. Revenue per employee. This measures productivity by showing how much growth can be sustained by the employees. It’s calculated by taking the annual revenue for the company and dividing it by the number of employees. These metrics shift the focus from raw growth to efficiency. Consider these metrics for your startup.   Thank you for joining us for the Startup Funding Espresso where we help startups and investors connect for funding. Let’s go startup something today. _________________________________________________________ For more episodes from Investor Connect, please visit the site at:   Check out our other podcasts here:   For Investors check out:   For Startups check out:   For eGuides check out:   For upcoming Events, check out    For Feedback please contact info@tencapital.group    Please , share, and leave a review. Music courtesy of .  


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Hall T Martin is the director of Investor Connect, which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to the education of investors for early-stage funding. All opinions expressed by Hall and podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of Investor Connect. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon for the basis of investment decisions.