Metrics & Performance
MOIC
Multiple on Invested Capital — the gross return multiple on an investment: total value returned divided by capital invested.
MOIC (Multiple on Invested Capital) is the simplest way to express investment returns: how many dollars did you get back for every dollar invested? MOIC = Total value returned / Capital invested. A $1M investment that returns $5M is a 5x MOIC. MOIC doesn't account for time — a 5x in 2 years is dramatically better than a 5x in 10 years. For VC funds, gross MOIC (before fees and carry) targets are typically 3-5x. For individual investments (the 'power law'), VC portfolios need a few 10-100x investments to offset the many 0x outcomes. MOIC is used colloquially ('we made a 12x on that deal') and formally in LP reporting alongside IRR and DPI.