What this is

No new concepts. This combines Lessons 5-11 into one judgment call, the same one a screening analyst makes before recommending a company for full diligence.

The company: Meridian CRM

  • Revenue: £100m, growing 18% a year
  • EBITDA: £20m (20% margin)
  • NRR: 118%, GRR: 92%
  • Top 10 customers: 14% of revenue (well spread, no concentration risk)
  • Market: mid-market retail CRM, fragmented, no dominant competitor yet
  • LTV:CAC: above 3:1, CAC payback under 14 months

Revenue

£100m

EBITDA

£20m

Growth

18%

NRR

118%

Top-10 concentration

14%

The question

Would you recommend this company for full diligence? Work through it before reading on.

A reasonable read: yes. 18% growth paired with 118% NRR means the growth is earned, not rented (Lesson 8); unit economics are healthy (Lesson 9); EBITDA margin is respectable for a growth-stage SaaS business (Lesson 10); and low customer concentration means no single lost logo could sink the thesis. The real diligence work, still ahead, is pressure-testing why NRR is 118% and whether it's durable, which is exactly where Lesson 14 picks up.

Try this yourself

Change one input at a time and see whether your recommendation flips:

  • NRR is 95% instead of 118%, everything else unchanged, still a yes?
  • Top 10 customers are 45% of revenue instead of 14%, does that change how much weight you put on any single contract renewal?
  • Growth is 18% but EBITDA margin is 4%, not 20%, what does that combination usually mean about how the growth is being bought?

If you can talk through why each of these would change your answer, you're ready for the Intermediate tier, starting at Lesson 13.