Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Are Your Startup Metrics Lying to You?
In the latest episode of the Zero to Traction podcast, co-hosts Josh David Miller (JDM) and Cameron Law return with a healthy dose of honesty, snark, and startup wisdom—alongside their spicy AI sidekick, Cass—to ask a simple but crucial question:
Are your metrics telling you the truth, or just what you want to hear?
Dubbed the “Mirror, Mirror on the Wall” edition, this episode is a call to every founder who’s ever clung to a vanity metric, hoping it meant traction. Spoiler: most of the time, it doesn’t.
Let’s break down three of the most common offenders.
📌 Metric #1: “We have a 3,000-person waitlist.”
Sounds impressive, right? It might be. Or… it might just mean you’re really good at setting up a Typeform.
The real question is: who’s on the list and why?
Did you define your ideal customer before building the waitlist?
Did they pay to join, or just drop an email out of curiosity or pity?
Is anyone actually waiting for a product—or just supporting their friend’s hustle?
As JDM puts it, “If 30 people are saying ‘take my money when this is ready,’ that’s more powerful than 3,000 people saying ‘here’s my email.’”
📌 Metric #2: “We got 500 upvotes on Product Hunt.”
Cool. But does your real customer even hang out on Product Hunt?
According to Josh, Product Hunt users are often “serial early adopters”—people who love testing shiny new tools, but rarely stick around long enough to become loyal users.
A Product Hunt launch might give you a quick spike and some learning, but don’t confuse launch hype with product-market fit.
Cameron makes the connection to crowdfunding: both can signal early interest, but neither gives you a sustainable go-to-market strategy. Real traction comes from building something your core customer can’t live without.
📌 Metric #3: “We signed an MOU with a major enterprise.”
Cue the celebration? Maybe. But also, maybe not.
MOU (memorandum of understanding) or LOI (letter of intent) sounds official, but neither equals revenue. Often, they’re just a polite way for big companies to say, “We’re interested… but not committing.”
Josh warns of “corporate cosplay”—when startups build custom solutions for big logos instead of real market validation.
If your product is now 20% custom for one client, are you still solving the original problem you set out to solve? Or just doing enterprise consulting with a startup logo?
🎯 The Takeaway: Don’t Let Vanity Metrics Derail Your Startup
Founders love numbers that make them feel good. But good metrics do more than dazzle—they inform decisions and validate assumptions.
Before bragging about your waitlist, launch stats, or enterprise interest, ask yourself:
Is this a sign of repeatable traction?
Will this help me build sustainably?
Or is this just glitter glue on a popsicle-stick pitch deck?
💡 Final Thought: Startups Are About Learning, Not Looking Good
Whether you’re tracking email signups, customer interviews, or conversion rates—what matters most is what you learn from them.
As the episode wraps up, Cameron shares a message from a founder fresh off the Startup Challenge weekend:
“Thank you so much for this weekend. I believe this was another breakthrough for me.”
Breakthroughs don’t come from inflated dashboards. They come from asking hard questions—and being willing to hear honest answers.
Even when those answers are:
“This isn’t traction. It’s just you playing startup dress-up.”
🎧 Listen to the full episode of Zero to Traction – “Mirror, Mirror on the Wall” wherever you get your podcasts.
And next time you open that pitch deck, ask yourself:
Are these metrics leading you to traction—or just making you feel good in the moment?
You know, like a blurry dating profile from 2016.
About Josh David Miller
Over the past decade, Josh David Miller has empowered over 100 startup founders and innovators to launch and scale their ventures. As the driving force behind the Traction Lab Venture Accelerator,
Josh specializes in guiding early-stage startups through the intricate journey from ideation to product-market fit. His expertise lies in transforming innovative concepts into viable, market-ready solutions, ensuring entrepreneurs navigate the challenges of the startup ecosystem with confidence and strategic insight.
About Cameron R. Law
Cameron R. Law is a Sacramento native dedicated to building community, growing ecosystems, and empowering entrepreneurs.
As the Executive Director of the Carlsen Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at California State University, Sacramento, he leverages his passion for the region to foster innovation and support emerging ventures. Through his leadership, Cameron plays a pivotal role in shaping Sacramento's entrepreneurial landscape, ensuring that innovators and builders have the resources and support they need to succeed.
