I would add this is not a particular issue only for tech companies. All companies need to do this sort of work. If you sell hamburgers how much did it take yo

I would add this is not a particular issue only for tech companies. All companies need to do this sort of work. If you sell hamburgers how much did it take you to sell 1 hamburger. In 'tech' what those costs and sales are, are different. But in the end total cost of sale is needed so you can figure out where MR=MC is for your business. As that tends to be the sweet spot. If marginal cost is wildly higher than marginal then you may have an unviable business. In this particular case it should have been fairly easy to tell. Total customers paying x 10 > total cost. If that is not true then you are not making money. Now there may be reasons to do that early but long term you are not going to make it. It is actually a good question to ask during an interview if you want to join a company that is doing OK. 'What sort of sales are you doing? Is your margin good or is it something else?' Basically ask around 'how are you making money'. It is important because in the end it affects your paycheck and how they will treat you.