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.

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.

It's important to communicate the enormous business opportunity your startup presents, even if you can't provide precise long-term financial projections; focus on the potential customer base and market need instead.

When you haven't launched yet, focus on understanding your target customer and the problem you're solving before worrying about metrics.

To succeed, you need to demonstrate that you can effectively sell your product and convince customers, rather than just focusing on product development.

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.

When gauging product-market fit, if you have to ask whether you've achieved it, you likely haven't. It's crucial to be honest about your startup's performance and growth potential.

Your primary metric should also be usable as a feedback mechanism, helping you prioritize strategies and make quick decisions in your startup.

At level one, metrics like burn rate and gross margin are often not applicable, and the focus should be on customer satisfaction and progress.