The most expensive mistake early-stage founders make before raising institutional capital is confusing a marketing budget with a growth engine. When founders assemble their first financial model, they often treat marketing as a linear dial: insert ₹5 lakh, produce ₹15 lakh in booked revenue, show a steep up-and-to-the-right chart, and watch venture capitalists compete for the term sheet. That playbook belongs to an era of cheap capital that no longer exists. In today's venture landscape, growth that comes at the expense of runaway customer acquisition costs (CAC) is viewed as a liability,...