A good primary metric should quantify the value you're delivering to your customers, indicating how much they want your product, with revenue being the best metric.

The primary metric should be a lagging indicator of success, reflecting real value delivered, like revenue from customers who have already paid for your product.

Track a key performance indicator (KPI) that reflects your company's success; for most, this should be revenue or user engagement.

Revenue is a crucial metric for subscription businesses; track it through events like subscription upgrades to set growth goals.

While revenue is often the best primary metric, some startups may focus on active users, especially if building a large audience is a prerequisite for monetization.

B2B services are a great business model because they often require fewer sales to generate significant revenue, allowing for higher profitability with less volume.

Your primary metric must capture whether your product provides recurring or enduring value to users, such as monthly recurring revenue for SaaS tools.

Focus on what matters most for your business; avoid vanity metrics and concentrate on sustainable growth and revenue.

In biotech or hard tech businesses, your primary metric might not be revenue or active users, especially if you're still validating whether your technology works. Instead, focus on technical milestones that demonstrate progress.