“What happens if your biggest channel stops working?”

What they're really asking

How concentrated is your growth? Investors rarely care about the question on its own. They're testing whether you know your numbers cold, whether your assumptions are honest, and whether you can explain them simply.

How to answer, step by step

1. Show the channel mix from your data.
2. Explain the cheapest channels and how they scale.
3. Show the sensitivity: what if paid CAC rises 20%?

An example answer

Paid search brings about 25% of new customers. Content and referrals bring more at lower CAC. A 20% rise in paid CAC cuts year-3 ARR by about $280k.

Figures are from Loopdesk, the fictional SaaS company in our sample files. Swap in your own numbers and keep the structure.

The answer that loses trust

Where the proof lives

Before the meeting, find the number behind your answer. In our workbooks it lives in: CAC by Channel, Sensitivity Tables. If you can open that tab and point to it, the follow-up question is easy.