Internal Growth Rate

You catch a tapeworm. It starts out about the length of a fingernail. However, within a few weeks, it’s about 8 feet long and you’re eating two pizzas a meal just to keep it fed. Big internal growth rate.

The more common connotation has to do with finance. A company’s internal growth rate measures how quickly it can grow without getting additional financing. So, the question posed: without borrowing money or taking on additional investors, how quickly can the company build its revenue and profit base?