> Also, as someone who's never actually invested, do people really judge investments on that number rather than internal rate of return, payback period, etc etc

> Also, as someone who's never actually invested, do people really judge investments on that number rather than internal rate of return, payback period, etc etc? Given that it made the difference between a profitable and unprofitable investment, I'm guessing that whoever was selling the investment just kept fiddling with the payoff metrics until they found a way to make it look attractive.