High top-line revenue is a vanity metric if it doesn't translate to profit. By setting a high margin target (e.g., 80%+) and enforcing it through pricing and cost management, you ensure the business is sane and profitable, not just busy.

The 'MQL death cycle' is over. Forward-thinking marketing organizations should align around Net Annual Recurring Revenue (Net ARR) as their ultimate measure of success. This metric, which combines new customer acquisition with retention, forces a focus on the entire customer lifecycle and proves marketing's contribution to sustainable business growth.

For consumption-based models, simple size-based segmentation (SMB, Enterprise) is insufficient. Stripe and Vercel use a two-axis model: company size (x-axis) and growth potential (y-axis). A small company growing at 200% YoY is more valuable and warrants more sales investment than a large, stagnant one.

Instead of viewing them as separate efforts, businesses should link customer retention and acquisition. By unifying data to better re-engage existing customers via owned channels like email and SMS, brands increase lifetime value. This, in turn, reduces the long-term pressure and cost associated with acquiring entirely new customers.

Everyone obsesses over Net Revenue Retention (NRR), but Gross Revenue Retention (GRR) is the real indicator of product health. GRR tells you if customers like your product enough to stay, period. A low GRR signals a core problem that expansion revenue in NRR might be masking.

While views and followers are useful signals, the key business indicator of a successful personal brand is its effect on core financial metrics. Specifically, a strong personal brand should lower the company's customer acquisition cost (CAC). This provides a tangible, high-level metric to gauge the brand's real-world business value.

Every business has a growth ceiling where new customer acquisition is completely offset by churn. No matter how many new customers you add per month, your business will stop growing once churn equals acquisition. Plugging this 'leaky bucket' is more valuable than pouring more water in.

Investors and acquirers pay premiums for predictable revenue, which comes from retaining and upselling existing customers. This "expansion revenue" is a far greater value multiplier than simply acquiring new customers, a metric most founders wrongly prioritize.

Escape the trap of chasing top-line revenue. Instead, make contribution margin (revenue minus COGS, ad spend, and discounts) your primary success metric. This provides a truer picture of business health and aligns the entire organization around profitable, sustainable growth rather than vanity metrics.