Skip to content
    Business Fundamentals

    Topic 07 of 12

    Measuring What Matters

    The numbers that tell you the truth about your business — which ones to watch, how they change as you grow, and how to know if they're any good.

    The 6 decisions this topic covers

    1. Measuring last year's problems?The numbers you watch should change as you grow.
    2. Is your funnel actually working?Track your whole sales funnel — from leads coming in to deals closing — plus how well you convert, split by customer type.
    3. Can you deliver as volume rises?Operations metrics tell you whether you're delivering well — on time, at quality, without waste.
    4. Surviving, or actually making money?Early on, finance metrics are about cost and survival — how fast you're spending and how long your cash lasts.
    5. Drowning in dashboards?Start simple and add tools as you grow.
    6. Is that number good or bad?Benchmarking means comparing your numbers to similar companies and industry norms, so you know whether a number is good, bad or average.

    The questions, answered

    Metrics by stageMeasuring last year's problems?The numbers you watch should change as you grow. Early on, it's all about getting sales and leads. In the growth stage, it shifts to keeping customers and running efficiently. At scale-up, it's about breaking even and making a profit.Sales metricsIs your funnel actually working?Track your whole sales funnel — from leads coming in to deals closing — plus how well you convert, split by customer type. The exact list depends on your business, but the funnel view is the backbone.Ops metricsCan you deliver as volume rises?Operations metrics tell you whether you're delivering well — on time, at quality, without waste. Like sales, the right ones depend on your business type and shift as you grow.Finance metricsSurviving, or actually making money?Early on, finance metrics are about cost and survival — how fast you're spending and how long your cash lasts. Later, they're about profit — whether the business actually makes money. The focus moves from “don't run out” to “make it pay.”Metrics toolingDrowning in dashboards?Start simple and add tools as you grow. B2C startups lean on website and product analytics; B2B startups lean on a CRM and pipeline tracking. Both need clean accounting and a way to bring it all together.Metric benchmarksIs that number good or bad?Benchmarking means comparing your numbers to similar companies and industry norms, so you know whether a number is good, bad or average. You bother because a metric on its own means nothing without context.

    Who answers these

    The guide is written by the people who do this work for founders every week.