What Venture Capitalists Actually Measure, CodeGood

Venture capitalists prioritize business outcomes over engineering metrics during technical due diligence. They focus on three key questions: whether technology delivers on business promises (evidenced by customer adoption and production performance), whether teams can build what's next (measured by retention and time-to-productivity), and whether leadership understands technical risks. Surface metrics like test coverage and velocity are less important than demonstrated capability with demanding customers. Effective preparation emphasizes architectural decisions, team sustainability, customer impact, and frank risk assessment rather than conventional engineering metrics.