metrics that matter

Definition

The handful of key performance indicators that actually determine business health versus the vanity metrics founders cite in pitch meetings. Revenue and retention versus social media followers and press mentions.

Example Usage

Our deck had impressive graphs about user engagement, but the VCs only cared about revenue retention, which we'd hidden on slide 47.

Origin

Lean analytics and metrics-driven management

Fun Fact

Different investors focus on different 'metrics that matter' based on their investment thesis, so savvy founders tailor their metrics storytelling to each VC's obsessions.

Source: Startup analytics and performance measurement

Related Terms

Intermediate

stack ranking

The internal process VCs use to rank portfolio companies or investment opportunities from best to worst. A forced ranking system that ensures someone always gets picked last for dodgeball.

🚀 Startup / VC

Intermediate

fully diluted

A calculation of ownership percentages that includes all possible shares—options, warrants, convertible notes, and that napkin the founder signed in 2009. The number that reveals how little of the company you actually own.

🚀 Startup / VC

Intermediate

equity crowdfunding

Raising capital from numerous small investors through online platforms, democratizing access to startup investment and the opportunity to lose money on early-stage companies. Kickstarter, but instead of getting a T-shirt, you get illiquid securities.

🚀 Startup / VC

Intermediate

follow-on funding

Additional investment in portfolio companies by existing investors in subsequent rounds. Doubling down on your bets or, less charitably, throwing good money after bad while hoping the first investment wasn't a complete disaster.

🚀 Startup / VC

Advanced

structured round

A funding round with complex terms beyond simple equity purchase—such as multiple share classes, ratchets, or unusual liquidation preferences. It's what happens when lawyers earn their retainers.

🚀 Startup / VC

Beginner

Founder

The person who started a company and will remind you of this fact in every meeting, email signature, and LinkedIn post until the heat death of the universe. They wear the title like a crown, even when the kingdom is a WeWork desk and two interns.

🚀 Startup / VC

Translate This Term

See “metrics that matter” in Corporate Speak, Gen-Z Slang, Pirate Speak, and more.

Try the Translator

Share This Term

Post on X Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn

Discover a Term

Beginner

ttyob

tend to your own business...