article thumbnail

Praying to the God of Valuation

Both Sides of the Table

And then in the late 90’s money crept in, swept in to town by public markets, instant wealth and an absurd sky-rocketing of valuations based on no reasonable metrics. We had nascent revenues, ridiculous cost structures and unrealistic valuations. Between 2006–2008 I sold both companies that I had started and became a VC.

Valuation 466
article thumbnail

Why vanity metrics are dangerous

Startup Lessons Learned

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Wednesday, December 23, 2009 Why vanity metrics are dangerous In a previous post, I defined two kinds of metrics: vanity metrics and actionable metrics. In this post, Id like to talk about the perils of vanity metrics. My personal favorite vanity metrics is "hits."

Metrics 167
Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Is the Lean Startup Dead?

Steve Blank

Tech IPO prices exploded and subsequent trading prices rose to dizzying heights as the stock prices became disconnected from the traditional metrics of revenue and profits. This same risk averse, conserve the cash, VC mindset would return after the 2008 meltdown of the housing market.).

Lean 335
article thumbnail

Cracking The Code: The Bessemer 10 laws of SaaS - Fall 2008.

Cracking the Code

Friday, October 10, 2008. The Bessemer 10 laws of SaaS - Fall 2008 Release. When we first published Bessemer’s Top 10 Laws for Being "SaaS-y" in early 2008 in conjunction with our annual invitation-only SaaS CEO Summit, we were overwhelmed with the positive response and feedback we received. Great list! Great list!

article thumbnail

Cracking The Code: SaaS business metrics: why are they different?

Cracking the Code

SaaS business metrics: why are they different? I was surprised today when I went through the NetSuite IPO filling (S1) to see that it looked very much like any Enterprise software document - not a single mention of churn or % of recurring revenues. Different models require different performance metrics. Friday, July 06, 2007.

article thumbnail

ESADE Business School Commencement Speech

Steve Blank

Companies horde cash and squeeze the most revenue and margin from the money they use. Metrics like Return on Net Assets, Return on Capital and Internal Rate of Return are the guiding stars of the board and CEO. To manage these employees companies create metrics to control, measure and reward execution. Companies need your help.

article thumbnail

Lessons Learned: The three drivers of growth for your business.

Startup Lessons Learned

Lessons Learned by Eric Ries Monday, September 22, 2008 The three drivers of growth for your business model. Master of 500 Hats: Startup Metrics for Pirates (SeedCamp 2008, London) This presentation should be required reading for anyone creating a startup with an online service component. Choose one.