We enjoy the privilege of meeting with thousands of entrepreneurs every year,and in the course of those discussions are presented with all kinds of numbers, measures, or metrics that illustrate the promise and health of a specific company. Sometimes,however, the metrics may not be the best gauge of what’s actually happening in the business, or people may exercise different definitions of the same metric in a way that makes it hard to understand the health of the business.
So,while some of this may be obvious to many of you who live and breathe these metrics all day long, we compiled a list of the most common or confusing metrics. Where appropriate, and we tried to add some notes on why investors focus on those metrics. Ultimately,though, obliging metrics aren’t about raising money from VCs -- they’re about running the business in a way where you know how and why certain things are working (or not), or can address or adjust accordingly. MORE
Source: a16z.com