The only real way to judge a startup is to wait 10 years and see what the end result is. Short of that, there's a whole bunch of hard-to-fake indicators, includ

The only real way to judge a startup is to wait 10 years and see what the end result is. Short of that, there's a whole bunch of hard-to-fake indicators, including having significant numbers of users, bringing in revenue, profitability, and raising investment. Funding is a second-order indicator and so less accurate, but at least it shows there's a bunch of folks willing to bet money that you'll achieve those other business goals.