When your business growth stalls, it’s rarely a mystery—it’s a measurement problem. Metrics are the early warning signs, the flashing dashboard lights, and the roadmap forward. Without them, you’re guessing in the dark. With them, you’re diagnosing the real issues, prioritizing the right fixes, and unlocking new growth.

This article outlines the 19 startup metrics every founder needs to track—especially when growth slows, churn creeps up, or your team starts feeling lost in the fog. Whether you’re bootstrapped or VC-backed, these metrics turn hunches into clarity and help you confidently lead.

Key Takeaways

• Founders must track financial, customer, engagement, and growth metrics—not just vanity stats.

• Metrics are your early alerts for problems like rising costs, churn, or ineffective funnels.

• A clear north star metric keeps your entire team focused on what really matters.

What Are Metrics and Why Do They Matter?

SMetrics are measurable signals that reflect your business’s performance over time. But more than numbers, they’re decision tools.

Why metrics matter:

• ✅ Track progress toward goals like “first 100 customers” or “break even by Q4.”

• ⚠️ Spot trends that warn of danger—like revenue slipping or user engagement dropping.

• 🧭 Guide decisions around pricing, marketing, hiring, and product development.

When growth slows, it’s often because you’re not tracking—or acting on—the right metrics.

19 Essential Metrics Every Founder Should Measure

Let’s break these down by category.

Financial Metrics

1. Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR)
   Predictable revenue from subscriptions.

   • Subtypes: New MRR, Expansion MRR

   • Related: ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue)

2. Net Profit
   Revenue minus all expenses—your actual earnings.

3. Gross Margin
   The percent of revenue left after covering the cost of goods sold (COGS).

   • Formula:

     (Revenue−COGSRevenue)×100%\left( \frac{\text{Revenue} – \text{COGS}}{\text{Revenue}} \right) \times 100\%(RevenueRevenue−COGS​)×100%

4. Cash Runway
   How long you can operate before running out of money.

   • Aim: 24–36 months.

5. Burn Rate
   How quickly you’re spending cash month-over-month.

   • High burn rate = short runway = red flag.

Customer Metrics

6. Contract Value
   Size of deals: Total or Annual Contract Value (TCV or ACV).

7. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
   Total cost to acquire a customer, including marketing, sales, and incentives.

8. Customer Lifetime Value (LTV)
   Total net profit from a customer over their lifecycle.

9. Churn Rate
   Percent of customers or revenue lost.

   • Formula:

     (LostTotal at Start)×100%\left( \frac{\text{Lost}}{\text{Total at Start}} \right) \times 100\%(Total at StartLost​)×100%

10. Net Promoter Score (NPS)
    Measures customer satisfaction and loyalty on a scale from 0–10.

Engagement Metrics

11. Monthly Active Users (MAU)
    Number of unique users who engage monthly.

12. Adoption Rate
    How quickly new users start using your product after signing up.

13. Activation Rate
    Percent of users who complete a key action (e.g., finish onboarding).

14. Retention Rate
    The percent of users or customers who stick around over time.

15. Lead-to-Customer Conversion Rate
    How well you convert leads into paying customers.

Growth Metrics

16. Deferred Revenue
    Money received for services not yet delivered. Critical for SaaS accounting.

17. Total Addressable Market (TAM)
    Your product’s maximum potential market size.

18. Compound Monthly Growth Rate (CMGR)
    Average month-over-month growth rate.

    • Formula:

      (FinalInitial)1Months−1\left( \frac{\text{Final}}{\text{Initial}} \right)^{\frac{1}{\text{Months}}} – 1(InitialFinal​)Months1​−1

19. Viral Coefficient (K-Factor)
    Measures how effectively users refer others.

    • Formula:

      $$\text{Referrals per User}\times \text{Conversion Rate}$$

How to Find Your Company’s North Star Metrics

Your North Star Metric is the one number that best captures the core value your product delivers and aligns your team around that purpose.

How to Choose It:

• Business Type:

  • SaaS: MRR or Activation Rate

  • Media: Daily Active Users or Time Spent

  • eCommerce: Repeat Purchase Rate

• Growth Stage:

  • Pre-launch: Customer interviews, waitlist growth

  • Early-stage: MAU, NPS, conversion rates

  • Growth-stage: LTV, churn, MRR

Pro Tip: Reevaluate your North Star Metric as your startup evolves. What matters at 10 users won’t be what matters at 10,000.

Conclusion

When growth stalls, it’s a symptom—not a sentence. Metrics show you why it happened and what to fix. Tracking these 19 metrics won’t just improve decision-making—it will give you a clear path back to traction, momentum, and scalability.

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