If financial metrics are not important for entrepreneurs, and if the most important things are good products and good markets, then why did you write a whole ar

If financial metrics are not important for entrepreneurs, and if the most important things are good products and good markets, then why did you write a whole article on creating a PROFITABLE freemium startup? Do you think profit is not a financial metric? Of course it is, just not as useful in this situation. Hence my suggestion to use metrics that are more meaningful. The metrics that are useful should show you what the risk / reward is for pursuing the business. It is very important for any entrepreneur to estimate how much investment is required to cover initial operating losses and capital expenditure. It is just as important for them to determine whether this investment is worth the expected future profits. Just to drive the point home: you can spend 1 billion dollars in year 1 on advertising, if you had the money. And year 2 will be profitable. But you have a terrible business if the profit curve over the next years isn't steep enough to offset the original investment. Simply making profits is not enough.