“Your LTV of each one of those three groups are very, very different. Really find out who those locals are — who are those people that are going to come and use your app every day, every week — and find ways to measure that.”

Tourists vs Locals: average LTV hides the cohort that will make your business

LTV from an average subscriber base blends three cohorts: power users (locals) who stay for years, casual users who drop off after 2-3 months, and wrong-fit users who churn in month one. Eric advises breaking cohorts and optimising product, acquisition, and fundraising narrative around locals only — because in five years, only locals remain, and they define your actual retention curve and investor story.