Business knowledge, clearly explained

Overview: how to read this site

This Atlas is organized for quick scanning. Each topic starts with a concise definition, then a “why it matters” paragraph, followed by measurable indicators and edge cases. Examples are crafted to be generic, avoiding industry-specific jargon unless it is essential to precision.

Information is self-contained: you can open any page and find the essentials without reading the rest. When additional depth helps, we link to background notes that lay out assumptions and caveats.

What “good” looks like: a practical checklist

Clear thinking beats verbose plans. The following list condenses patterns seen across durable companies. Each point is intentionally specific: it can be verified or falsified in a weekly review.

1. Define a single constraint. Write the one factor that most restricts growth now (e.g., activation rate, partner capacity, sales cycle length). Re-evaluate monthly.
2. Describe the customer with verbs. Focus on actions — “evaluates options,” “switches tool,” “renews contract” — not vague personas.
3. Attach a metric and a horizon. Targets without timeframes are wishes. Example: “Activation ≥ 45% within 60 days of signup.”
4. Instrument the path. For each step, define the event, the owner, and the review cadence. Fewer steps outperform perfect diagrams.
5. Keep experiments concurrent but limited. Run 2–3 active hypotheses at once; close or scale based on pre-declared decision rules.
6. Record assumptions separately from facts. Create a list of assumptions with dates and confidence levels. This prevents folklore from freezing into “truth.”
7. Prefer reversible moves. When outcomes are uncertain, choose options that are cheap to reverse. Save irreversible bets for high-confidence moments.

Key formulas you can compute on a napkin

This site avoids spreadsheet templates and focuses on the logic you can keep in your head.

• Contribution per unit = Price − Variable cost. If this number is unstable, fix measurement before scaling.
• Payback period ≈ CAC ÷ Monthly contribution from a new customer. Shorter payback increases resiliency in downturns.
• Retention lens = Look at customers who started in the same month (cohorts). If their revenue halves by month 3, acquisition quality or onboarding is the issue.

Glossary: terms used consistently here

Constraint

The factor that most limits throughput today. Identified via evidence, not opinion.

North-star metric

A single measure that correlates with long-term value creation, not vanity growth.

Runway

Months of operation left at current burn. Includes realistic hiring and seasonality.

Reading policy

Every note favors clarity over completeness. When frameworks appear, they are explained with practical boundaries, not buzzwords. If a concept is contested, the arguments are listed with their conditions. The aim: help you decide, not to sell you a method.