MVP Metrics & KPIs: Track What Matters for Startup Success

You can't improve what you don't measure. This guide shows you exactly which metrics to track for your MVP and how to use data to drive growth.

MVP Metrics Framework

The Pirate Metrics (AARRR)

Acquisition → Activation → Retention → Revenue → Referral
   How many?     Do they use?   Come back?    Pay you?    Tell others?

Choosing Your North Star Metric

Your North Star Metric (NSM) is the single metric that best captures the core value you deliver.

Examples by Business Type:

• SaaS: Weekly Active Users
• Marketplace: GMV (Gross Merchandise Value)
• Content: Time spent in app
• Social: Daily active users
• E-commerce: Repeat purchase rate

The MVP Metrics Hierarchy

North Star Metric
┃
┣━━ Input Metrics (3-4)
┃   ┃
┃   ┗━━ Health Metrics (5-7)
┃       ┃
┃       ┗━━ Diagnostic Metrics (10-15)

Focus Rule: Check NSM daily, input metrics weekly, health metrics monthly.

Acquisition Metrics

Traffic Metrics

Website Visitors

Unique Visitors: How many individuals
Sessions: How many visits
Pageviews: Total pages viewed
Traffic Sources: Where they come from

Conversion Funnel

Visitors → Signups → Activated → Paying
  100%       10%        5%         1%

Key Acquisition KPIs

1. Visitor-to-Signup Rate

• Formula: Signups / Visitors × 100
• Good: 2-3%
• Great: 5%+
• Amazing: 10%+

2. Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)

• Formula: Total Marketing Spend / New Users
• Compare to Customer Lifetime Value
• Track by channel

3. Channel Effectiveness | Channel | Visitors | Signups | CPA | Quality | |---------|----------|---------|-----|----------| | Organic | 5,000 | 250 | $0 | High | | Paid | 2,000 | 160 | $25 | Medium | | Social | 3,000 | 90 | $10 | Low | | Direct | 1,000 | 100 | $0 | Highest |

Tracking Setup

// Track signup source
analytics.track('Signed Up', {
  source: document.referrer,
  campaign: urlParams.get('utm_campaign'),
  medium: urlParams.get('utm_medium')
});

Activation Metrics

Defining Activation

Activation = User experiences core value

Examples:

• Slack: Team sends 2,000 messages
• Facebook: 7 friends in 10 days
• Dropbox: First file uploaded
• Twitter: Follows 30 people

Key Activation Metrics

1. Time to Value (TTV)

Optimal TTV by Product Type:
B2C: < 60 seconds
B2B: < 24 hours
Enterprise: < 7 days

2. Activation Rate

Formula: Activated Users / Total Signups × 100

Benchmarks:
Poor: < 20%
Average: 20-40%
Good: 40-60%
Excellent: > 60%

3. Feature Adoption

Core Feature Usage:
✅ Feature A: 85% (Critical)
🟡 Feature B: 45% (Important)
🔴 Feature C: 12% (Remove?)

Improving Activation

Onboarding Optimization:

1. Reduce steps to value
2. Show progress indicators
3. Provide interactive tutorials
4. Offer quick wins
5. Celebrate milestones

Analytics setup guide →

Retention Metrics

The Retention Curve

100% |•
     |••
 80% | ••
     |  •••
 60% |    •••
     |      ••••••••••••••• ← Plateau (good!)
 40% |             
     |___________________________
     D1  D7  D14  D30  D60  D90

Critical Retention Metrics

1. Day 1/7/30 Retention

| Product Type | D1 | D7 | D30 | |--------------|----|----|-----| | Social | 70% | 50% | 30% | | SaaS | 80% | 60% | 40% | | Gaming | 40% | 20% | 10% | | E-commerce | 25% | 15% | 10% |

2. Cohort Retention

Week 0: 100% (signup week)
Week 1: 45%
Week 4: 25%
Week 12: 20% ← Your retained base

3. Engagement Metrics

• DAU/MAU Ratio (stickiness)
• Session frequency
• Session duration
• Actions per session

Churn Analysis

Churn Rate Calculation:

Monthly Churn = (Lost Customers / Starting Customers) × 100

Acceptable Churn Rates:
B2C: 5-7% monthly
B2B: 2-3% monthly
Enterprise: < 1% monthly

Churn Reasons:

1. Poor onboarding (35%)
2. Lack of value (25%)
3. Technical issues (20%)
4. Better alternative (15%)
5. Price (5%)

Revenue Metrics

Early Revenue Indicators

Pre-Revenue Metrics:

• Letters of Intent (LOIs)
• Waitlist with deposits
• Pilot program signups
• Pre-orders

Core Revenue KPIs

1. Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR)

MRR = Number of Customers × Average Revenue per User

Growth Rate = (MRR This Month - MRR Last Month) / MRR Last Month × 100

Target: 15-20% monthly growth

2. Customer Lifetime Value (LTV)

Simple LTV = Average Revenue per User / Monthly Churn Rate

Example:
$50 ARPU / 5% churn = $1,000 LTV

3. CAC Payback Period

Payback = Customer Acquisition Cost / Monthly Revenue per Customer

Good: < 12 months
Great: < 6 months
Amazing: < 3 months

Unit Economics

The Golden Ratio:

LTV:CAC Ratio
< 1:1 = Losing money
1:1 to 3:1 = Barely sustainable
3:1 to 5:1 = Healthy
> 5:1 = Excellent (or underinvesting)

Contribution Margin:

Revenue per Customer
- Variable Costs
- Support Costs
= Contribution Margin

Target: > 70% for SaaS

Metrics dashboard guide →

Implementation Guide

Setting Up Analytics

Week 1: Basic Tracking

1. Install Analytics

   // Google Analytics 4
   gtag('config', 'GA_MEASUREMENT_ID');
   
   // Mixpanel
   mixpanel.init('YOUR_PROJECT_TOKEN');
   

2. Define Events

   • User Signed Up
   • Feature Used
   • Upgrade Started
   • Payment Completed

3. Create Dashboards

   • Executive Dashboard
   • Product Dashboard
   • Marketing Dashboard

Week 2: Advanced Setup

1. User Properties

   mixpanel.people.set({
     plan: 'pro',
     signup_date: '2024-01-27',
     company_size: '10-50'
   });
   

2. Conversion Funnels

   • Signup flow
   • Onboarding flow
   • Purchase flow
   • Feature adoption

3. Cohort Analysis

   • By signup date
   • By acquisition channel
   • By user type
   • By behavior

Building Your Dashboard

Essential Dashboard Components:

┌───────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ North Star Metric         [Week/Month] │
│ 📈 2,847 Weekly Active Users (+12%)   │
└───────────────────────────────────────────┘

┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐
│ Acquisition │ │ Activation │ │ Retention   │
│ 423 signups │ │ 67% rate   │ │ 45% week 1  │
└─────────────┘ └─────────────┘ └─────────────┘

Tools Stack

Analytics Platforms:

• Google Analytics 4 - Free, comprehensive
• Mixpanel - Product analytics
• Amplitude - Advanced cohorts
• Heap - Auto-capture events

Specialized Tools:

• Hotjar - Heatmaps & recordings
• FullStory - Session replay
• Segment - Data pipeline
• Datadog - Performance monitoring

Data Analysis Rhythm

Daily (5 min):

• Check North Star Metric
• Review any anomalies
• Note significant changes

Weekly (30 min):

• Review all key metrics
• Analyze conversion funnels
• Check cohort retention
• Plan improvements

Monthly (2 hours):

• Deep dive analysis
• Cohort comparisons
• Channel performance
• Strategic planning

Your Metrics Action Plan

Week 1: Setup

• [ ] Choose North Star Metric
• [ ] Install analytics tools
• [ ] Define key events
• [ ] Create basic dashboard

Week 2: Baseline

• [ ] Gather initial data
• [ ] Set up funnels
• [ ] Configure alerts
• [ ] Train team

Week 3: Optimize

• [ ] Identify drop-offs
• [ ] Run first experiments
• [ ] Improve weak metrics
• [ ] Document learnings

Week 4: Scale

• [ ] Automate reporting
• [ ] Expand tracking
• [ ] Set growth targets
• [ ] Plan next month

Common Metrics Mistakes

❌ Vanity Metrics

• Total registered users
• Page views
• App downloads
• Social media followers

✅ Actionable Metrics

• Active users
• Engagement rate
• Activation rate
• Revenue per user

❌ Too Many Metrics

• Tracking everything
• 50+ KPIs
• No focus
• Analysis paralysis

✅ Focused Approach

• 1 North Star
• 3-5 key metrics
• Clear ownership
• Regular review

Resources & Tools

Templates

• 📊 MVP Metrics Dashboard
• 📈 KPI Tracking Sheet
• 🎯 OKR Template
• 📋 Analytics Checklist

Further Learning

• Data-driven decisions guide →
• Industry benchmarks →
• Growth experiments guide →

Get Expert Help

Need help setting up your metrics?

• Metrics Audit - Review your tracking
• Dashboard Setup - Custom analytics
• Growth Consultation - Strategic guidance

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Remember

"If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it." - Lord Kelvin

Start simple. Track what matters. Make decisions based on data, not opinions.

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The best time to start tracking metrics was before launch. The second best time is now.