Useless Metrics
Too often, I see start-up metrics designed for someone else.
So much time and effort goes into creating metrics that don't represent any element of underlying health of a business. Sometimes I think they're designed to keep investors in the dark, but sometimes I think it's the founders using dodgy metrics as their own comfort blanket to distract them from the lack of progress on the actual things that drive the business forward.
The whole point of metrics is that they present an accurate reflection of how the business is doing, such that the founder/management team can do something about it if/when things are going wrong. That's it. They should not be marketing material, particularly outside of a fundraising context. I want to know the full story - good, bad and ugly - so we can crack on with discussing, coming up with a plan and mobilising resources towards that plan.
Don't be fooled into thinking the metrics are the point in and of themselves. You can't take a fancy chart to the bank.