Brutal Audit
Grade your growth rate using Paul Graham's two-number math
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What is Brutal Audit?
Brutal Audit's Growth Rate tool measures a startup's monthly growth rate against Paul Graham's 15%-per-month bar for billion-dollar companies. Users connect an LLM Gateway API key, enter their monthly revenue (the only required input), and get a comprehensive growth analysis including compound monthly growth rate, growth-health score, letter grade, revenue projections, time to $1B, phase identification, and copy-paste prompts for re-accelerating growth.
The tool provides a 0-100 growth-health score anchored to PG's 15%/month benchmark, along with compound monthly growth rates across the full window and trailing 3 and 6 months. It generates projections showing where each growth rate lands in 1, 2, and 3 years, calculates time to $1B revenue run-rate versus the 15%/month path, identifies phases (ignition, scaling, plateau) from the actual revenue series, and delivers specific prompts for growth moves to re-accelerate the curve.
This tool is best for startup founders who want an honest assessment of whether their growth trajectory matches billion-dollar company patterns, founders tracking their monthly revenue growth, entrepreneurs evaluating if they're on a viable scaling curve, and startup teams needing data-driven projections and actionable prompts to improve growth rates.
Brutal Audit pricing
Pricing model: Freemium
The tool uses your own LLM Gateway API key with no middleman pricing. A full audit with gpt-4o-mini costs under 2 cents. New users get free credits to start, so the first audit is on the house. You pick the model - GPT-4o-mini for cheap and fast, Claude Sonnet for sharper output, or free models for zero spend. LLM Gateway provides a single API key for 300+ models across major providers.
Brutal Audit pros
- Measures growth against Paul Graham's proven 15%/month billion-dollar benchmark
- Requires only monthly revenue as input - simple and fast
- Provides compound monthly growth rate across full window and trailing 3/6 months
- Delivers 0-100 growth-health score with letter grade
- Generates 1/2/3 year revenue projections based on current growth rate
- Calculates time to $1B revenue run-rate vs 15%/month path
- Identifies growth phases: ignition, scaling, plateau from actual revenue data
- Provides copy-paste prompts for specific growth moves to re-accelerate
- Uses your own LLM Gateway API key - no middleman pricing
- Runs analysis on your model of choice (GPT-4o-mini, Claude, etc.)
- Pennies per audit - under 2 cents with gpt-4o-mini
- New users get free credits to start - first audit on the house
- 300+ models available through single LLM Gateway key
- Honest, brutally candid assessment without fluff
- Data-driven projections based on actual revenue series
- Focuses on two critical numbers: growth rate and duration per Paul Graham
Brutal Audit cons
- Requires LLM Gateway API key - not free without your own key
- Only analyzes public URLs - no private dashboard access
- Single metric focus - only measures growth rate, not other business metrics
- Based on Paul Graham's framework which may not fit all startup models
- 15%/month benchmark may be unrealistic for later-stage companies
- No automated revenue tracking - manual input required
- Limited to startup/revenue growth - not applicable to all business types
- No team collaboration features mentioned
Frequently asked questions about Brutal Audit
What is the only required input for the growth audit?
The only required input is your monthly revenue. Everything else (additional business questions) sharpens the read but is not mandatory.
What is Paul Graham's 15%-a-month bar?
Paul Graham argues that at 15% monthly growth, revenue multiplies about 4,384x over five years, enough to make a typical founder a billionaire. This is the benchmark against which Brutal Audit grades your growth rate.
What does the growth verdict include?
The verdict includes your compound monthly growth rate (full window + trailing 3/6 months), a 0-100 growth-health score with letter grade, 1/2/3 year projections, time to $1B vs 15%/month path, phase read (ignition/scaling/plateau), and copy-paste prompts for re-accelerating moves.
How does the tool measure growth rate?
The tool measures your compound monthly growth rate by analyzing your revenue series. Growth rate comes from making something users love so much they tell their friends - the tool calculates the actual compound rate and grades it against the 15%/month bar.
What is the 'duration' number per Paul Graham?
Duration is the second critical number - you get it by being in a big market. Market size sets how long growth can compound. Neither growth rate nor duration can be manufactured through cheating.
Which models can I use for the analysis?
You can use any of 300+ models through LLM Gateway - GPT-4o-mini for cheap and fast (under 2 cents per audit), Claude Sonnet for sharper output, or free models for zero spend. Swap models by changing the LLMGATEWAY_AUDIT_MODEL env var.
How do I connect my LLM Gateway key?
Paste your LLM Gateway API key into the tool. The system pings the gateway with a real auth check to confirm it works before running the analysis.
What growth phases does the tool identify?
The tool identifies three phases off the actual revenue series: ignition (early growth), scaling (accelerating growth), and plateau (stalled growth). This helps you understand where your startup currently sits.
Are the prompts for re-accelerating growth specific to my business?
Yes, the tool provides copy-paste prompts for the specific growth moves that re-accelerate your curve, based on your actual revenue data and growth rate analysis.
Can cheating manufacture growth rate or duration?
No. According to Paul Graham's framework, neither number requires cheating. Growth rate comes from making something users love, and duration comes from being in a big market. Cheating cannot manufacture either number.