Metrics Tracking Based on Startup Scale

Startups, on average, don’t track enough relevant metrics on a regular basis. Some engineering-led startups are very analytical and track so many metrics that it’s difficult to know what’s important. Overall, it’s important to align quantity of metrics with the scale of the startup.

Here are a few ideas on metrics tracking based on startup scale:

• Always measure cash on hand and cash burn (if applicable), regardless of scale
• Based on the four stages of a startup, increase the number of metrics tracked at each stage
• Operational metrics become much more important once product / market fit has been achieved (see assessing fit) and the focus turns to building a repeatable customer acquisition machine
• Managers and department heads should have 2-3 main metrics shared with the whole company and many more tracked internally (so, as you add managers, add metrics)

Here’s an example set of metrics to track on a weekly or monthly basis after product / market fit:

Overall

• Annual recurring revenue
• Cash on hand (or months of runway)

Sales

• New annual recurring revenue (ARR)
• 30-day weighted pipeline

Marketing

• Marketing qualified leads (MQLs)
• MQL opportunity value

Support

• New tickets
• Closed tickets

Product

• Net promoter score
• Net churn ARR

Engineering

• Sprint completion %
• New bugs

As a startup grows and matures, so should the number of metrics tracked.

What else? What are some other thoughts on metrics tracking based on startup scale?