The ‘Still Here’ Metric

Revenue targets. Press clippings. Awards on the shelf.

If you looked at my LinkedIn this week, you’d see all the greatest hits of a growing business. But as any founder with a toddler knows, the metrics that keep you up at night aren’t the ones you show your investors.

Following International Women’s Day, I’ve been reading the sobering stats about the funding barriers female entrepreneurs still face and the patent gap for women-led startups. It made me think about my own daughter. What if she wants to start a tech business like her dad? What kind of ecosystem is she inheriting? One obsessed with the exit or one that cares about the impact?

Last week, I decided to ignore the spreadsheets and spent the best hour reading through comments from our MAGIC AI community. I came across one from a new mum – three months postpartum – who found her strength at home because she couldn’t afford a £100 per hour trainer. A woman going through chemo posted a workout selfie with two words: “Still here.”

That’s the legacy I always wanted to build.

We are always banging on about disruption in tech, but really, the most radical thing we can do as founders is to create something that actually makes someone’s life better. Whether it’s a mum squeezing in 20 minutes of self-care exercise during a nap or a stroke survivor completing his first training programme, that kind of ROI makes me feel like I’m doing something right.

When I look at my daughter, I don’t hope she grows up to hit a revenue target. I hope she grows up to build a community that holds people up when they think they’re falling.

Awards are cool – thank you, Startups 100, for acknowledging my achievements!  – but “Still here” is the only metric that makes the 5am starts worth it.

This content is contributed by a guest author. Startups.co.uk / MVF does not endorse or take responsibility for any views, advice, analysis or claims made within this post.