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business-health-diagnostic Diagnose SaaS business health across growth, retention, efficiency, and capital. Use when preparing a business review or prioritizing urgent fixes.
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下载 Zip 下载中... name business-health-diagnostic description Diagnose SaaS business health across growth, retention, efficiency, and capital. Use when preparing a business review or prioritizing urgent fixes. intent Diagnose overall SaaS business health by analyzing growth, retention, unit economics, and capital efficiency metrics together. Use this to identify problems early, prioritize actions by urgency, and deliver a comprehensive health scorecard for board meetings, quarterly reviews, or fundraising preparation. type interactive theme finance-metrics best_for ["Getting a complete read on your SaaS business health across all dimensions","Identifying which metrics are red flags vs. leading indicators","Preparing for a board meeting or investor review"] scenarios ["Our growth is strong but we're burning cash fast — I need to understand our unit economics before the board meeting","I'm preparing for a Series A board meeting and need to assess our business health across growth, retention, and efficiency"] estimated_time 20-30 min
Purpose
Diagnose overall SaaS business health by analyzing growth, retention, unit economics, and capital efficiency metrics together. Use this to identify problems early, prioritize actions by urgency, and deliver a comprehensive health scorecard for board meetings, quarterly reviews, or fundraising preparation.
This is not a single-metric check—it's a holistic diagnostic that connects revenue, retention, economics, and efficiency to reveal systemic issues and opportunities.
Key Concepts
The Business Health Framework
A SaaS business is healthy when four dimensions work together:
Growth & Retention — Are you growing and keeping customers?
Revenue growth rate
NRR (Net Revenue Retention)
Churn rate
Quick Ratio
Unit Economics — Is the business model profitable at the customer level?
CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)
LTV (Lifetime Value)
LTV:CAC ratio
Payback period
Gross margin
Capital Efficiency — Are you using cash efficiently?
Burn rate
Runway
Rule of 40
Magic Number
Strategic Position — Are you positioned for sustainable success?
Market positioning (below, at, above market pricing)
Competitive moat (network effects, data, brand)
Revenue concentration risk
Operating leverage
Stage-Specific Benchmarks
Early Stage (Pre-$10M ARR):
Focus: Product-market fit, unit economics
Growth: >50% YoY
LTV:CAC: >3:1
Gross Margin: >70%
Runway: >12 months
Acceptable: Negative margins, high burn (if unit economics work)
Growth Stage ($10M-$50M ARR):
Focus: Scaling efficiently
Growth: >40% YoY
NRR: >100%
Rule of 40: >40
Magic Number: >0.75
Acceptable: Moderate burn if growth is strong
Scale Stage ($50M+ ARR):
Focus: Profitability, efficiency
Growth: >25% YoY
NRR: >110%
Rule of 40: >40
Profit Margin: >10%
Required: Positive or near-positive cash flow
Red Flag Categories Critical (Fix immediately):
Runway <6 months
LTV:CAC <1.5:1
Churn accelerating cohort-over-cohort
NRR <90%
Magic Number <0.3
High Priority (Fix within quarter):
Rule of 40 <25
Payback >24 months
Quick Ratio <2
Gross margin <60%
Revenue concentration >50% in top 10 customers
Medium Priority (Address within 6 months):
NRR 90-100% (flat, not growing)
Magic Number 0.3-0.5
Operating leverage negative
Churn rate stable but high (>5% monthly)
Anti-Patterns (What This Is NOT)
Not a single metric: "Revenue is growing 50%, we're great!" (ignoring burn, churn, unit economics)Not stage-agnostic: Early-stage burn is acceptable; scale-stage burn is a problemNot static: Health is directional—are metrics improving or degrading?Not just numbers: Context matters (competitive pressure, market changes, team capacity)
When to Use This Framework
Preparing for board meetings or investor updates
Quarterly business reviews (QBR)
Fundraising preparation (know your numbers)
Annual planning (identify improvement areas)
You suspect problems but can't pinpoint them
New PM/exec joining and needs health assessment
You're pre-revenue (focus on product-market fit first)
You're in pure research mode (not enough data)
You need tactical guidance (use specific skills: feature, channel, pricing)
Facilitation Source of Truth
session heads-up + entry mode (Guided, Context dump, Best guess)
one-question turns with plain-language prompts
progress labels (for example, Context Qx/8 and Scoring Qx/5)
interruption handling and pause/resume behavior
numbered recommendations at decision points
quick-select numbered response options for regular questions (include Other (specify) when useful)
This file defines the domain-specific assessment content. If there is a conflict, follow this file's domain logic.
Application This interactive skill asks up to 4 adaptive questions , then delivers a comprehensive diagnostic with prioritized recommendations.
Step 0: Gather Context "Let's diagnose your business health. I'll need metrics across four dimensions: growth, retention, unit economics, and capital efficiency.
Stage: (Pre-$10M ARR, $10M-$50M ARR, $50M+ ARR)
Business model: (PLG, sales-led, hybrid)
Target market: (SMB, mid-market, enterprise, mixed)
Why this matters: Benchmarks vary by stage. Early-stage optimizes for growth; scale-stage optimizes for efficiency.
Please provide the following metrics. Use 'unknown' if you don't have a metric."
Step 1: Growth & Retention Metrics
Revenue:
Current MRR or ARR: $___
Revenue growth rate: ___% (MoM or YoY)
Retention:
Monthly churn rate: ___%
NRR (Net Revenue Retention): ___%
Quick Ratio: ___ (or I can calculate it)
Expansion:
Expansion revenue as % of total MRR: ___%
Cohort trends:
Are recent cohorts retaining better or worse than older cohorts?
Better (improving)
Same (stable)
Worse (degrading)
Unknown"
Based on answers, agent evaluates:
✅ Healthy growth: Growth >40% YoY (growth stage) or >25% (scale stage)
✅ Healthy retention: NRR >100%, churn <5% monthly, Quick Ratio >2
🚨 Growth problems: Growth <20% YoY
🚨 Retention problems: NRR <100%, churn >5%, cohort degradation
Step 2: Unit Economics Metrics
Acquisition:
CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost): $___
Blended or by channel? (If by channel, what's your best channel CAC?)
Value:
LTV (Lifetime Value): $___
LTV:CAC ratio: ___ (or I can calculate it)
Payback period: ___ months (or I can calculate it)
Margins:
Gross margin: ___%
Contribution margin (if known): ___%
Trends:
Is CAC increasing, stable, or decreasing over time?
Decreasing (improving efficiency)
Stable
Increasing (diminishing returns)
Unknown"
Based on answers, agent evaluates:
✅ Healthy economics: LTV:CAC >3:1, payback <12 months, gross margin >70%
⚠️ Marginal economics: LTV:CAC 2-3:1, payback 12-18 months
🚨 Poor economics: LTV:CAC <2:1, payback >24 months, gross margin <60%
Step 3: Capital Efficiency Metrics
Cash:
Cash balance: $___
Monthly net burn rate: $___
Runway: ___ months (or I can calculate it)
Efficiency ratios:
Rule of 40: ___ (Growth % + Profit Margin %) (or I can calculate it)
Magic Number: ___ (S&M efficiency) (or I can calculate it)
Operating expenses:
S&M as % of revenue: ___%
R&D as % of revenue: ___%
Is OpEx growing faster than revenue?
No (positive operating leverage)
Yes (negative operating leverage)
Unknown
Profitability:
Profit margin: ___%
Path to profitability: (already profitable, 6-12 months, 12-24 months, >24 months, unknown)"
Based on answers, agent evaluates:
✅ Healthy efficiency: Rule of 40 >40, magic number >0.75, runway >12 months
⚠️ Acceptable efficiency: Rule of 40 25-40, magic number 0.5-0.75, runway 6-12 months
🚨 Poor efficiency: Rule of 40 <25, magic number <0.5, runway <6 months
Step 4: Deliver Comprehensive Diagnostic Agent synthesizes all metrics and delivers:
Overall Health Score — Healthy / Moderate / Concerning / CriticalDimension Scores — Growth, Retention, Economics, EfficiencyRed Flags — Critical, High Priority, Medium PriorityPrioritized Recommendations — Top 3-5 actions with expected impactStage-Appropriate Benchmarks — How you compare to peers
Diagnostic Pattern 1: Healthy Business
Growth, retention, economics, and efficiency all meet stage-appropriate benchmarks
No critical red flags
Improving trends
"## ✅ Overall Health: Healthy
Your business shows strong fundamentals across all dimensions.
Health Scorecard Dimension Score Status Growth & Retention ✅ Healthy Growth ___% YoY, NRR ___%, Churn ___% Unit Economics ✅ Healthy LTV:CAC ___:1, Payback ___ months Capital Efficiency ✅ Healthy Rule of 40: ___, Runway ___ months Overall ✅ Healthy Strong position for scaling
Key Strengths
[Specific strength 1]
Metric: [e.g., NRR 120%]
Why it matters: [Expanding within base without new logos]
[Specific strength 2]
Metric: [e.g., LTV:CAC 5:1]
Why it matters: [Sustainable unit economics support scaling]
[Specific strength 3]
Metric: [e.g., Rule of 40 = 65]
Why it matters: [Excellent balance of growth and efficiency]
Opportunities for Optimization Even healthy businesses can improve. Here are your top opportunities:
Current: [e.g., Magic Number 0.9]
Opportunity: [Could scale S&M spend 2x and maintain efficiency]
Impact: [+$___ MRR/month]
Current: [e.g., Expansion revenue 15% of total]
Opportunity: [Build upsell paths, target 25% expansion revenue]
Impact: [NRR 110% → 120%]
Current: [e.g., CAC $500, stable]
Opportunity: [Improve conversion, reduce CAC to $400]
Impact: [Faster payback, better LTV:CAC]
Recommended Actions (Next Quarter) Priority 1: Scale what's working
[e.g., Double content marketing budget (best channel)]
Expected impact: [+___ customers/month, +$___ MRR]
Priority 2: Expand within base
[e.g., Launch premium tier for 20% of customers]
Expected impact: [NRR 110% → 115%]
Priority 3: Improve efficiency
[e.g., Optimize paid acquisition (reduce CAC 10%)]
Expected impact: [Payback 8mo → 7mo]
Monitor These Metrics
NRR (should stay >___%)
Churn rate (should stay <___%)
Quick Ratio (should stay >___)
Rule of 40 (should stay >___)
Magic Number (should stay >___)
LTV:CAC (should stay >___:1)
Cohort retention trends
Revenue concentration risk
Operating leverage
Benchmarks (Your Stage: [Growth/Scale]) Metric Your Performance Benchmark Status Growth Rate ___% >40% (growth) / >25% (scale) ✅ NRR ___% >100% ✅ LTV:CAC ___:1 >3:1 ✅ Rule of 40 ___ >40 ✅ Gross Margin ___% >70% ✅
You're performing at or above benchmarks across the board."
Diagnostic Pattern 2: Moderate Health (Fixable Issues)
Most metrics acceptable, but 1-2 dimensions have problems
Medium-priority red flags
Solvable with focus
"## ⚠️ Overall Health: Moderate (Fixable Issues)
Your business has good fundamentals but needs attention in [specific dimension].
Health Scorecard Dimension Score Status Growth & Retention [✅ / ⚠️ / 🚨] [Details] Unit Economics [✅ / ⚠️ / 🚨] [Details] Capital Efficiency [✅ / ⚠️ / 🚨] [Details] Overall ⚠️ Moderate [Primary issue area] needs attention
Red Flags Identified
[Specific red flag]
Metric: [e.g., NRR 95%]
Threshold: [Should be >100%]
Impact: [Base is contracting, not expanding]
Fix by: [End of quarter]
[Specific issue]
Metric: [e.g., Magic Number 0.6]
Threshold: [Should be >0.75]
Impact: [S&M spend moderately efficient, room for improvement]
Fix by: [6 months]
Root Cause Analysis Primary Issue: [e.g., Retention & Expansion]
NRR 95% (should be >100%)
Churn rate 5% monthly (should be <3%)
Expansion revenue only 10% of MRR (should be 20-30%)
Diagnosis:
[e.g., Customers are churning before they expand. Onboarding is weak, no clear upsell paths.]
Lost MRR: [Calculate churn impact]
Missed expansion: [Calculate expansion opportunity]
Total impact: [Combined revenue loss]
Prioritized Action Plan Immediate (Next 30 days):
Action: [Specific step, e.g., "Launch onboarding improvement program"]
Owner: [PM, Customer Success]
Target: [Reduce churn 5% → 4%]
Impact: [Save $___K MRR/month]
Short-term (Next Quarter):
Action: [e.g., "Build premium tier for upsell"]
Target: [NRR 95% → 105%]
Impact: [+$___K expansion MRR]
Action: [e.g., "Optimize S&M spend, improve magic number"]
Target: [Magic Number 0.6 → 0.8]
Impact: [More efficient growth]
What Success Looks Like (90 Days)
NRR: 95% → 105% (+10pp)
Churn: 5% → 3.5% (-30%)
Magic Number: 0.6 → 0.8 (+33%)
Monthly revenue saved from churn: +$___K
Expansion revenue: +$___K
More efficient S&M: [details]
If you hit these targets, you'll be in 'Healthy' territory.
Monitor Weekly
Churn rate (track to ensure it's decreasing)
NRR (track to ensure it's improving)
Customer feedback (are improvements working?)
Onboarding completion rate
Time-to-value
Usage metrics (activation, engagement)
What Not to Do
Scale acquisition until retention is fixed (you'll just churn faster)
Ignore expansion (it's easier than new acquisition)
Wait too long (retention problems compound)"
Diagnostic Pattern 3: Concerning Health (Urgent Action Required)
Multiple critical red flags
2+ dimensions problematic
Requires immediate intervention
"## 🚨 Overall Health: Concerning (Urgent Action Required)
Your business has multiple critical issues that need immediate attention.
Health Scorecard Dimension Score Status Growth & Retention 🚨 Concerning [Details] Unit Economics 🚨 Concerning [Details] Capital Efficiency 🚨 Critical [Details] Overall 🚨 Concerning Multiple urgent issues
Critical Red Flags 🚨 1. [Critical Issue 1 - e.g., Runway]
Current: [6 months runway]
Threshold: [<6 months = crisis]
Impact: [Survival risk]
Action: [Raise capital OR cut burn immediately]
Timeline: [30 days]
2. [Critical Issue 2 - e.g., Unit Economics]
Current: [LTV:CAC 1.2:1]
Threshold: [<1.5:1 = unsustainable]
Impact: [Losing money on every customer]
Action: [Reduce CAC OR increase LTV]
Timeline: [60 days]
3. [Critical Issue 3 - e.g., Cohort Degradation]
Current: [Newer cohorts churning 2x faster than old]
Threshold: [Degrading PMF]
Impact: [Scaling makes problem worse]
Action: [Stop scaling, fix retention]
Timeline: [90 days]
Survival Plan (Next 90 Days)
Extend runway (if <6 months)
Option A: Raise bridge round ($___K)
Option B: Cut burn by ___%
Option C: Combination
Decision by: [Date]
Stop scaling broken channels
Pause S&M spend on channels with LTV:CAC <2:1
Reallocate budget to [best-performing channel]
Assemble crisis team
Daily standups on key metrics
Weekly progress reviews
Month 1: Stop the Bleeding
Priority 1: Fix Unit Economics
Current: LTV:CAC ___:1 (unsustainable)
Actions:
Reduce CAC: [Specific tactics]
Increase LTV: [Improve retention, add expansion]
Target: LTV:CAC >2:1 within 30 days
Priority 2: Improve Retention
Current: Churn ___% (too high)
Actions:
Interview churned customers (identify top 3 reasons)
Fix onboarding (reduce early churn)
Proactive outreach to at-risk accounts
Target: Reduce churn by 20% within 30 days
Milestone 1: Positive Unit Economics
LTV:CAC >2:1 ✅
Payback <18 months ✅
Gross margin >60% ✅
Milestone 2: Slowing Churn
Churn decreasing month-over-month
Cohort degradation stopped
NRR improving toward 100%
Milestone 3: Runway Extended
12+ months runway (via fundraise or burn reduction)
Clear path to next milestone
What Success Looks Like (Day 90)
Runway: ___ months → 12+ months ✅
LTV:CAC: ___:1 → >2:1 ✅
Churn: ___% → reduced by 30% ✅
NRR: ___% → improving toward 100%
Out of crisis mode
Stable foundation to rebuild growth
Clear plan for next 6-12 months
What to Avoid
Try to grow your way out of this (fix unit economics first)
Ignore the data (hope is not a strategy)
Scale before you fix retention (accelerates failure)
Wait until runway <3 months to fundraise (too late)
Focus ruthlessly on retention and unit economics
Cut costs to extend runway
Be honest with board/investors about problems
Move fast (you don't have time to waste)"
Diagnostic Pattern 4: Critical Health (Existential Crisis)
Runway <3 months OR
Multiple critical failures (LTV:CAC <1:1, massive churn, no path to profitability)
"## 🚨🚨 Overall Health: Critical (Existential Crisis)
Your business is in survival mode. Immediate drastic action required.
[Similar structure to Pattern 3, but more urgent tone, shorter timelines, more drastic measures]
Immediate Actions (This Week):
Emergency board meeting
Fundraise immediately OR cut burn 50%+
Stop all non-essential spend
Fix top 1-2 critical issues (runway, unit economics)"
Examples See examples/ folder. Mini examples below:
Example 1: Healthy Growth-Stage SaaS
ARR: $20M, Growth: 60% YoY
NRR: 115%, Churn: 2.5%
LTV:CAC: 4:1, Payback: 10 months
Rule of 40: 50, Runway: 18 months
Diagnosis: Healthy. Scale aggressively.
Example 2: Moderate Health (Retention Issue)
ARR: $15M, Growth: 40% YoY
NRR: 95%, Churn: 5%
LTV:CAC: 3.5:1, Payback: 12 months
Rule of 40: 38, Runway: 12 months
Diagnosis: Moderate. Fix retention before scaling further.
Example 3: Concerning (Multiple Issues)
ARR: $8M, Growth: 25% YoY (slowing)
NRR: 88%, Churn: 7% (increasing)
LTV:CAC: 1.8:1, Payback: 20 months
Rule of 40: 15, Runway: 8 months
Diagnosis: Concerning. Urgent action on retention and unit economics required.
Common Pitfalls
Pitfall 1: Celebrating Single Metrics Symptom: "Revenue growing 50%!" (ignoring burn, churn, unit economics)
Consequence: Unsustainable growth. Scaling broken model.
Fix: Look at all four dimensions together.
Pitfall 2: Ignoring Stage-Specific Benchmarks Symptom: "We're not profitable yet, is that bad?" (early-stage company)
Consequence: Misplaced worry. Early-stage should optimize for growth and unit economics, not profitability.
Fix: Use stage-appropriate benchmarks.
Pitfall 3: Focusing on Lagging Indicators Only Symptom: "Churn is 5%, let's watch it"
Consequence: By the time lagging indicators (churn, NRR) show problems, it's late.
Fix: Track leading indicators (usage, engagement, onboarding completion).
Pitfall 4: Not Acting on Red Flags Symptom: "NRR <100% for 3 quarters, but we'll fix it eventually"
Consequence: Problems compound. Becomes crisis.
Fix: Set clear timelines. If metric doesn't improve in X time, escalate.
Pitfall 5: Trying to Fix Everything at Once Symptom: "Let's improve growth, retention, CAC, and efficiency simultaneously"
Consequence: Resources spread thin. Nothing improves.
Fix: Prioritize top 1-3 issues. Fix sequentially.
References
Related Skills
saas-revenue-growth-metrics — Detailed growth and retention metricssaas-economics-efficiency-metrics — Detailed unit economics and capital efficiencyfinance-metrics-quickref — Fast lookup for all metrics and benchmarksfeature-investment-advisor — Uses health diagnostic to inform feature prioritiesacquisition-channel-advisor — Uses health diagnostic to inform channel prioritiesfinance-based-pricing-advisor — Uses health diagnostic to inform pricing decisions
External Frameworks
Bessemer Venture Partners: "SaaS Metrics 2.0" — Comprehensive benchmarksDavid Skok: "SaaS Metrics" — Unit economics benchmarksOpenView Partners: SaaS benchmarking reportsBattery Ventures: "State of SaaS" annual report
Provenance
Adapted from research/finance/Finance_QuickRef.md (Red flags table)
Decision frameworks from research/finance/Finance_For_PMs.Putting_It_Together_Synthesis.md
Benchmarks from research/finance/Finance for Product Managers.md
