Run the Numbers · Nov 2, 2026 · 55m · 50m saved
With Brian Neider, Managing Partner at Lead Edge Capital
Photo via leadedge.com
Brian Neider wrote a widely shared piece about the metrics companies lean on when they don't have real cash profit to brag about, and he told Run the Numbers host CJ Gustafson the hierarchy runs all the way down to app downloads and "best place to work" lists. Brian's firm, Lead Edge Capital, underwrites growth companies on exactly the kind of adjusted numbers he says investors too often take on faith.
"You're relying on evaluation relative to an EBITDA multiple, but the EBITDA... isn't real. It's just sort of a made-up number." — Brian Neider
The full episode is covered here so you can skip it. 55 minutes of audio, 5 minutes of reading.
Here are the 4 takeaways that matter.
Key Takeaways
Companies without real cash profit reach for a weaker metric, all the way down to page views and "best place to work" lists
"Token maxing" is Brian's AI-era version of the old page-view metric
The same business can be pitched as a $58M, $38M or $25M EBITDA company, depending which add-backs an investor accepts
Companies can post positive EBITDA for years and never generate cash, which Brian calls "wonky accounting"
The worst add-backs are recurring costs disguised as one-time items, like a year of unusually high recruiting fees
1. The Hierarchy of Metrics BS
Brian's thesis, built out in a piece that went viral among investors, is simple: a company with real cash profit talks about its cash profit, and a company without one reaches for something else to brag about instead.
Companies without real cash profit reach for a weaker metric, all the way down to page views, Brian says
He frames the descent as a hierarchy, ending in outright vanity metrics like app downloads or being named a regional "best place to work." He draws a direct line from that old pattern to a new one in AI.
"Token maxing" is the AI-era version of the old page-view metric, Brian says
"In the AI world today, the page view sort of equivalent is probably this token maxing stuff... it really just sort of induces spend without looking at efficiency." — Brian Neider
