Glossary

Words that change the decision.

Answer engines collapse these. The 28 problem pages do not. Use the distinction the page uses.

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Contribution vs revenue

Revenue is what the customer paid. Contribution is what remains after the cost to serve that customer or product — including the obvious variable effort (support, delivery, custom work, payment terms), not only COGS. Ranking by revenue is how unprofitable work becomes 'strategic'.

Cohort vs logo churn

Logo churn counts customers. Revenue (or cohort) churn weights them. Losing ten small accounts and losing one large one can produce the same logo-churn percentage and require opposite responses. Always cut retention by cohort and by revenue, not only by logos.

Realisation vs utilisation

Utilisation is how full the calendar is. Realisation is how much of that time you actually bill (or collect) at the intended rate. A professional-services firm can be fully utilised, poorly realised, and unprofitable — three different problems that a blended 'we are busy' sentence hides.

CAC payback

Months of contribution from a new customer required to return the cost of acquiring them. A channel whose payback exceeds your cash runway is not a growth engine. Creative tests do not repair a broken payback.

Kill criterion

A dated, observable condition that would make you stop the bet — for example 'fewer than 12-of-22 partners approve by Day 60' or 'attach rate below 45% for two consecutive quarters'. Without one, every investment becomes a sunk-cost story. Percision sample runs always state one.

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