Debt is the right metaphor.
Some amount of tech debt is virtually unavoidable; just like w/ $, a low-interest student loan or mortgage might be a great investment, while using a high-interest-rate credit card, or usurious payday loans, represent catastrophe.
Cutting a few corners for the sake of GTM is often the former. Forgoing proper tests, or letting PoCs shape architecture, is more like the latter.
I don't see "swimming" replacing it anytime soon -- and the energy you'd expend trying to shift the metaphor might be better spent elsewhere.
That said, "swimming in debt" still works, as a fairly common and intuitive metaphor. Break-even is treading water, profitability is flying above the waves, and accruing debt can put you in Davy Jones' locker.
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Debt is the right metaphor. Some amount of tech debt is virtually unavoidable; just like w/ $, a low-interest student loan or mortgage might be a great investment, while using a high-interest-rate credit card, or usurious payday loans, represent catastrophe. Cutting a few corners for the sake of GTM is often the former. Forgoing proper tests, or letting PoCs shape architecture, is more like the latter.
I don't see "swimming" replacing it anytime soon -- and the energy you'd expend trying to shift the metaphor might be better spent elsewhere.
That said, "swimming in debt" still works, as a fairly common and intuitive metaphor. Break-even is treading water, profitability is flying above the waves, and accruing debt can put you in Davy Jones' locker.