Two New Metrics that Might Keep Your Startup Alive in 2026

VC’s love rules and formulas. The Rule of 40. CAC/LTV. Burn Multiples. Neat equations that promise precision in a world where controlled chaos is the norm and clean math is hard to come by.

Right now I’m working with a founder who reminds me why those formulas only get you part of the way and new measures are required, especially at the early stage.

This team built a product I genuinely love, an app I open nearly every day. It’s been downloaded millions of times and is widely used. Unfortunately, churn is higher than they’d like and monetization isn’t fully dialed in yet. The burn is shrinking and profitability is in view, but not without a bridge round, which I recently helped to catalyze.

It was a hard round to close. It doesn’t have AI in the name, so most VC’s aren’t excited to dig in. In an attempt to make this kind of startup more legible, here are a couple of the principles that gave me confidence to continue to back this team:

Dollars-to-Progress Ratio:

Every time I open the app there’s a new feature waiting for me. Every six-week check-in comes with a chart that climbs steadily up and to the right. The epitome of capital efficiency is a team “propelled by the fumes from a petrol-soaked rag.” This team has raised very little, but has converted every dollar into product and TikTok-fueled growth. And every dollar feels like an investment in possibility at a time when term sheets can start to feel like overpriced lottery tickets.

Morale Multiplier:

The product is great, but it was the founder’s enthusiasm that pushed me to catalyze this round. He cares so deeply it’s impossible not to leave every interaction more energized than you arrived. When we meet, I’m astounded by how often he has exactly the question I have in mind queued up as the next slide. Updates are delivered regularly and filled with clear detail.

This founder recently became a father and after the extension closed, he told me he finally felt like he could sleep again. You’d never have guessed how much weight he was carrying based on how he carried himself on calls.

There’s still plenty of work ahead, and the odds are long, just like with every startup. Still, this is the kind of team that makes you “waltz to work.”

I’m skeptical of many startup “rules.” But trusting in exceptional founders has rarely led me too far astray.