I observe that Usefulness gets a download, while Dopamine gets DAUs.
ARR tells you scale, not stickiness.
Retention really needs time, at least a year or more to show whether those customers are actually staying and paying.
Fast ARR can be inflated by promotional pricing, aggressive sales pushes, or short‑term deals that don’t reflect real product‑market fit.
Many of the companies that became category leaders or top IPOs didn’t explode overnight. They took years of iteration, retention focus, and unit economics work before they became truly sustainable.
Yes revenue numbers are great but metrics like retention quality, customer lifetime value, repeat usage, and strong fundamentals matter far more than crossing revenue milestones.