The Core Value Equation
The one equation you need to cap off annual planning and to raise money. Where you are today, plus what you'll invest, equals the company you'll be at the end of the year — and the left side of next year's equation.
One picture, three terms.
Plug in your numbers below. The four metrics on the left are what you've already built — your traction. The four buckets in the middle are where every dollar of next year's spend goes. The right side is the company you become — and it's also next year's left side. Tap Roll year forward to watch it compound.
Where we are
today.
Where the money
goes.
- 01GTM machineDemand, sales, scale
- 02CX machineOnboarding, retention, expansion
- 03ProductRoadmap that compounds
- 04TalentHires that unlock the year
Where we land
together.
It tells the only story that matters.
Most planning decks end on a wall of OKRs. Most pitch decks end on an ask with no math behind it. The Core Value Equation collapses both into a single line: here's what we have, here's what we do with the next dollar, here's what we become. It works because every term forces a real conversation.
It anchors the conversation in compounding, not snapshots.
ARR is a snapshot. ARRv is a slope. ARRa is the second derivative. Once you're tracking acceleration, you stop celebrating last quarter's ARR and start asking the only question that matters: is the slope of the slope still positive?
It makes investment a precondition, not a wish.
The middle term is non-negotiable: you don't get to the right side without spending. Whether the dollars come from the bank account or from an investor, the four buckets are the same — GTM, CX, Product, Talent. No mystery line items.
It chains years together.
The right side becomes next year's left side. When the equation balances, last year's outcome is this year's traction. That's how you raise round after round telling the same story with a bigger number on the left.
It survives the audience switch.
Use the same equation to close annual planning with the team and to open the raise with a board. Internally it's a goal. Externally it's an underwrite. The math is identical; only the verbs around it change.
A coach's pass through each term.
A short note on what each term actually is, what it's not, and the one thing to watch when you fill it in. If a term feels soft, the equation will feel soft. Tighten the term, tighten the story.
Traction
Traction is what you've already built — measured four ways, because one number lies.
ARR is the headline. It's where you are. It tells you almost nothing about where you're going.
ARRv (velocity) is net-new ARR per month — bookings minus churn. This is what's actually happening right now. If ARR is the starting line and the destination, ARRv is the speedometer.
ARRa (acceleration) is how much ARRv changed this month versus last. If ARRv is the speedometer, then this is your foot on the gas. Negative ARRa means even if ARR is still growing, you're slowing down.
EBITDA is the cost of producing that growth. It keeps the conversation honest. Velocity bought with infinite cash isn't velocity, it's a subsidy.
Investment
Every dollar — from the bank account or from a check — lands in one of four buckets.
GTM machine. The repeatable system that turns a marketing dollar into a closed deal. Demand gen, SDRs, AEs, sales ops, the playbook itself. Investment here moves ARRv.
CX machine. Onboarding, customer success, support, expansion. Investment here moves churn down and net retention up — which moves ARRv from the other side, and protects every prior year of bookings.
Product. The roadmap that earns the next renewal and unlocks the next segment. Investment here moves ARRa, because product velocity is what compounds GTM and CX velocity.
Talent. The hires that make the other three buckets possible. The first GTM leader. The first CX leader. The first staff engineer. Without the right people, dollars in the other buckets are wasted.
Outcome
The outcome is the company you become — measured the same way you started.
The right side is deliberately the same shape as the left. ARR is bigger. ARRv is bigger. EBITDA is closer to (or past) zero. And critically: ARRa is still positive. If ARRa goes negative on the right side, you bought ARR but lost momentum — the next year's equation gets harder, not easier.
The right side becomes next year's left side.
This is the part most teams underplay. The equation isn't a one-time exercise — it's a loop. Last year's outcome is this year's traction. Three loops in, the company looks unrecognizable, and the only thing that changed was discipline about which numbers go in which boxes. Below: a worked compounding example. (Roll the equation above forward to see the same numbers move.)
Three loops in, the only thing that changed was the discipline about which numbers go in which boxes.