Acquisition

Acquisition is the top of the funnel, and the easiest place to spend money badly. The channels that compound (organic search, content, referral, product-led virality) carry a near-zero marginal cost once they run, while paid channels buy a number once and stop the moment the budget does. Customer acquisition cost is the denominator behind every unit-economics question you have, so the work is rarely finding a cheaper channel. It is raising the conversion rate on the traffic you already pay for, then making sure the customers you win are worth more than they cost.

This collection covers how real companies actually acquired their first and millionth users: the channel-by-channel teardowns, the funnel math from visitor to paying customer, and the metrics that tell you whether a motion pays back (CAC, cost per lead, LTV to CAC, and payback period). The aim is the practitioner's read, which channel fits which stage, where the leaks are, and how to tell an acquisition problem from an activation one before you pour more budget into the top.