The counterintuitive move that saved this founder's business.

Hey Founder,

Let me tell you about Sarah Paiji Yoo. In 2022, she did something that made her investors nervous. She cut over $1 million per month in Facebook and Instagram ads. Cold turkey.

Think about that for a second. Your business is growing. You've raised $35 million. And you decide to slash your biggest growth lever.

Every startup playbook says that's business suicide. Every growth hacker would call it madness. But here's the twist: that decision led Blueland to $300 million in lifetime sales and profitability.

Here's the contrarian truth nobody talks about: Growth and profitability are now rising together for the first time in venture history.

The old "grow at all costs, profit later" playbook is dead. Late-stage startups are now fully embracing profitability, making them prime candidates for IPOs or strategic acquisitions.

Sarah saw this shift coming. While competitors were still burning cash like it was 2021, she made profitability her number one priority—even if it meant pausing growth.

Today, you'll see exactly how she did it and how you can apply the same framework to your business.

Think of your P&L like a bucket with holes. Most founders keep pouring water in (raising more money) instead of plugging the holes.

Sarah looked at Blueland's financials and found the biggest hole: over $1 million monthly on paid social ads. The math was simple. Cut that line item, hit profitability within the year.

Your action: Pull up your P&L right now. Find your single biggest expense. Ask yourself: "If I cut this by 50% tomorrow, would my business survive?" If the answer is yes, you've found your leverage point.

Real example: DTC shoe brand Larroudé saw manufacturing fees climbing for two years. Instead of accepting higher costs, they opened their own factory in Brazil. That's a big bet that gave them margin control.

The analogy: Your biggest expense is like a subscription you forgot about. It auto-renews every month, draining your account. You got used to it. But when you finally cancel it, you realize you never needed it.

Here's what Sarah did next: she took those marketing dollars and reinvested them in building a stronger business engine. Not growth. Foundation.

Median operating margins improved from -60% to -41% in 2024 as companies demonstrated more sustainable expansion. The winners aren't spending less. They're spending smarter.

Your action: Take 30% of your acquisition budget and move it to retention. Build an email flow that actually converts. Create a loyalty program. Improve your product based on customer feedback.

Bandit Running launched a $125 annual membership in December 2022, achieving a nearly 60% repeat purchase rate with members making at least five purchases on average. They tripled revenue not by finding new customers, but by keeping the ones they had.

Real example: Look at your customer data. What percentage buy twice? If it's under 30%, your acquisition spending is just filling a leaky bucket. Fix retention first.

The analogy: Acquisition is like dating. Retention is like marriage. You can't keep swiping forever and expect to build something lasting.

When Blueland raised their final round in 2022, Sarah told investors she'd never raise again. This wasn't bravado. It was strategic clarity.

That declaration forced everyone—team, investors, herself—to operate like profitability was the only option. Sarah made clear to investors that being profitable was more important than growing.

Your action: Set a "funded until" date. Even if you have runway, act like you don't. This mental shift changes every decision you make. You stop optimizing for vanity metrics and start optimizing for cash flow.

A striking 82% of small businesses fail due to cash flow problems, while only 40% of startups are profitable. The ones that survive aren't always the fastest growing. They're the ones that control their cash.

Real example: Bootstrapped companies now perform similarly to VC-backed startups in net revenue retention, suggesting that the top-tier SaaS businesses face similar headwinds regardless of funding model. The advantage of VC money is shrinking.

The analogy: Running your business without a funding safety net is like learning to swim by jumping in the deep end. Uncomfortable? Yes. But you learn fast, and you learn to survive.

Sarah's insight was brutal in its simplicity: if your customer acquisition cost (CAC) is higher than what they spend, you're not building a business. You're burning money with extra steps.

First order profitability is vital for DTC brands, as they don't have the reliable repeat purchase rates to justify losing money upfront. The "lose money now, make it up later" playbook died with iOS 14.

Your action: Calculate your CAC and customer lifetime value (LTV) for real. Not the projections you showed investors. The actual numbers. If your CAC is over 30% of your LTV, you're in the danger zone.

Then ask: "Can I make a profit on the first order?" If yes, you have a real business. If no, you have a gamble.

Real example: Many DTC brands discovered they need CLV to sufficiently exceed CAC for the business model to work long-term. If it costs $50 to acquire a customer who only spends $30, you're on a treadmill to nowhere.

The analogy: CAC vs. LTV is like fishing. If your bait costs more than the fish you catch, you're not a fisherman. You're just feeding the lake.

The Trap: They confuse revenue growth with business health. Revenue goes up, they celebrate. But margins stay negative, burn stays high, and runway shrinks.

The Reality: Once you get below 50% year-on-year growth, you should sprint to profitability. Growth and profitability aren't opposites anymore. They're partners.

The Fix: Track your "path to profitability" as aggressively as you track MRR. Every month, ask: "Are we closer to breaking even or further away?"

If you couldn't raise another dollar, would your business survive the next 12 months?

If the answer makes you uncomfortable, good. That discomfort is data. It's telling you where to focus.

Sarah Paiji Yoo bet on profitability when everyone else was chasing growth. She won. Not because she had a better product. But because she had better financial discipline.

Community Question:
What's the one expense you're afraid to cut, but know you probably should? Reply and let's talk through it.

Abdulla Al Noman
Founder, BzOpa News Pop

P.S. Does this hit home for you? Know a founder who's been burning cash on ads and wondering why their bank account keeps shrinking? Do them a favor and forward this their way. It might be the wake-up call they need to take control of their runway.

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