This excerpt is seven years old. It's pulled from a talk a venture capitalist did at the University of Boulder. I bookmarked it when it came out and watch it every couple months.

Time is a seldom thought of factor when it comes to ROI (return on investment).

Jason poses the question, "If you give me 2 million dollars and I give you 4 million back, was this a good investment?"

The answer is, "it depends" or "I don't know, how long does it take to get the 4 million?"

If it takes a day to double the initial investment, then heck yeah that's a great return. If it takes 30 years -- that's not so good because there could've been alternative uses that would've returned better.

As you spend your own resources; money, time, etc. Evaluate that resource investment with how long it takes your "return" to mature.