B2B Startup Metrics | Startup School

TL;DR

Metrics are essential for B2B startups to make informed decisions and avoid flying blind. The core metric should be revenue, not vanity metrics like gross transaction value. Key sub-metrics are retention (especially net dollar retention above 100%), gross margin, burn rate, and runway.

Key insights

• Founders who launch without basic metrics (e.g., knowing new vs. returning users, DAU/WAU) are flying blind; metrics should be built in before launch.
• Vanity metrics like gross merchandise value (GMV) can hide flat or declining revenue because they don’t reflect actual revenue (e.g., a neobank grew GMV 50% every two weeks while revenue was flat due
• The three critical numbers for investor updates are revenue, net burn rate (monthly costs minus revenue), and runway (bank balance / monthly burn).