What’s the True First Metric for Startups in the AI Era?

“In the AI era, individuals, brands, and companies that help users find the most beautiful moments in life will become winners.” – Alistair Croll, Benjamin Yoskovitz

When Lean Data Analytics was first published a decade ago, the modern internet was just beginning, the iPhone was a new invention, and few startups publicly shared their metrics, leaving investors unsure what to ask.

The book introduced the simple yet powerful feedback loop of “build‑measure‑learn,” echoing Eric Ries’s lean startup principles, and emphasized that good analysis, like natural selection, is essential for any system, including new ventures.

Over the past ten years, the tech industry has grown and introduced jargon such as “engaged minutes,” “residual customer value,” and “freemium conversion.” Today, without data, startups are merely guessing.

If there is no data, a startup is just randomly testing feasibility. The core principle remains: the first key metric should reflect whether a company creates an organization people are proud of, love, and recommend.

Automation and AI now make testing ideas easier than ever, shifting focus from primary metrics like conversion rate to secondary and tertiary metrics that assess deeper value.

Examples of metric hierarchies include:

Primary metric: Conversion rate – “Are we selling more products?”

Secondary metric: Do these sales bring us closer to business goals?

Tertiary metric: Are those goals suitable for our company?

Primary metric: Subscription rate – “How many people signed up?”

Secondary metric: How loyal are those users?

Tertiary metric: Are we attracting the most beneficial users for growth?

However, metrics alone are insufficient; founders must also consider whether they are building an organization that users cherish and would recommend.

In a world saturated with cheap content and AI‑assisted work, the true first metric for society should be “time spent without regret,” ensuring time is valuable rather than wasted.

Today’s tools handle many business functions—ticketing, payments, content publishing, logistics—making entrepreneurship more accessible but also increasing choices and competition.

Ultimately, the article concludes that the first key metric for anyone reading the book—whether from a state‑owned enterprise, an internal venture, a startup founder, or an investor—is the ability to use data to build a better organization faster.