Tesla’s rapid growth has been nothing short of remarkable, with revenue scaling from $2 billion to $20 billion in just 30 months. Former Tesla President Jon McNeill shared his secret to scaling companies at TechCrunch’s All Stage event in Boston.
McNeill, who co-founded and is now CEO of DVx Ventures, has a playbook that helps him identify when a company is ripe for scaling. He assesses two key metrics: product-market fit and go-to-market fit.
For product-market fit, McNeill looks at whether 40% of customers say they can’t live without the product. If not, he believes the company isn’t ready. To achieve product-market fit, startups must iterate until reaching this threshold.
McNeill’s second metric is the go-to-market strategy’s maturity level. He evaluates a company’s customer acquisition cost (CAC) and total lifetime value (LTV). When LTV surpasses four times CAC, he believes the company is ready for investment.
Until then, McNeill’s firm invests in small chunks to help startups reach key stage gates. His approach has been successful, with companies achieving breakout growth at this 40% acceptance level.
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/20/former-tesla-president-discloses-the-secret-to-scaling-a-company