Gross Dollar Retention

Definition

Gross Dollar Retention (GDR) measures the percentage of recurring revenue retained from existing customers over a period, excluding expansion revenue. It captures only the impact of churn and contraction. A 90%+ GDR indicates very sticky customer relationships. Logo retention (the percentage of customers retained, regardless of revenue changes) is a related but distinct metric.

Context

In Ep. 20, Jake Colognesi identifies "90% plus kind of logo or gross dollar retention" as one of Mamba Growth's core investment criteria. He emphasizes that companies demonstrating "very sticky relationships with their end customers" are the ones worth the effort of hard-to-reach outreach. Jake also describes using retention data in value-add analysis post-investment — for example, showing a founder that customers using 3+ modules retain at 98% versus 88% for the rest.

Related Terms

• Annual Recurring Revenue — the revenue base that GDR measures retention of
• SaaS — the business model where GDR is most relevant
• Investment Lens Definition — GDR threshold is a core lens criterion