Tesla went from $2 billion to $20 billion revenue in just 30 months, driving growth around the Model 3 launch. Former Tesla president Jon McNeil shared the rapid scale story and his hard metrics for startup success at TechCrunch All Stage 2025 in Boston.
McNeil now runs DVx Ventures and has a history of founding six companies and leading Lyft as COO. He uses a strict playbook to spot when businesses are ready to scale fast.
First metric: product-market fit. McNeil demands 40% of customers must say they cannot live without the product. Less than that, no scale. 
“We keep adding, adding, adding and tweaking the product until we get to 40% and then we say, okay, boom, now we’ve got product market fit,” Jon McNeil stated.
“It’s actually objective and measured. It’s not a feeling, it’s not a sense. It’s a metric.”
He says a study confirmed breakout businesses hit around that 40% customer loyalty threshold.
Next, McNeil checks the go-to-market fit. The customer acquisition cost (CAC) must be way less than the customer lifetime value (LTV). Specifically, an LTV to CAC ratio of 4-to-1 signals readiness to invest heavily.
“Then we pour in the cash. But before then, we’re doling out cash $100,000 at a time just to get to different stage gates,” McNeil said.
McNeil’s approach spells out clear signs startups need before scaling — no guessing, just cold numbers and customer love. TechCrunch All Stage 2025 hits San Francisco October 27-29.
