Many consumer Internet business executives are loyalists of the Lifetime Value model, often referred to as the LTV model or formula. Lifetime value is the net present value of the profit stream of a customer. This concept, which appears on the surface to be quite benign, is typically used to compare the costs of acquiring a customer (often referred to as SAC, which stands for Subscriber Acquisitio
![The Dangerous Seduction of the Lifetime Value (LTV) Formula](https://cdn-ak-scissors.b.st-hatena.com/image/square/09916dff526742772ed3f34943efda545887d950/height=288;version=1;width=512/https%3A%2F%2Fimageio.forbes.com%2Fblogs-images%2Fthumbnails%2Fblog_988%2Fpt_988_4198_o.jpg%3Fformat%3Djpg%26height%3D900%26width%3D1600%26fit%3Dbounds)