The 6 Key Startup Metrics

The Hack - 6 Key Metrics You Must Worship

AARRR stage - Revenue

Growth Problem - Which Metrics Should be Religiously Tracked


Haxplanation:

You started in the growth hacking game because you get excited by numbers. Crazy numbers, that is. Like growing your users base 6000% in under a year. Or hacking revenue growth to 300% month-on-month. You know, those kind of numbers. As a growth hacker, you never signed up to learn a new language though.

MRR. LTV. CMRR. MAU. DAU. CAC. MQL… Blah! Need we go on? Sad but true, metrics are as much a part of the growth hacking game as your gold plated iPhone 6. Oh sorry, are you not one of the co-founders of Facebook? In that case, as much as your desktop drum set .

But you have no choice. A growth hacker lives and dies by the metrics! So, put on your oversized hipster glasses, grab a soy latte and prepare for a session of rote learning. And here you were thinking that growth hacking was all about beating the co-founders at table tennis…


Just Hack It:

  • So, let's get down to this metrics business. Out of all of the krazy acronyms that you should be tracking, there is a small list of those that will fill your phone's inbox with smiley face emoticons from your investors
  • That alone is worth the price of filling your brain cavities with more senseless acronyms
  • Without further ado, meet your new best (nerdy) friends:
    • Churn - your arch-nemesis. The one metric you need to beat into submission until it's as small as a mouse. See customers cancelling? Kung-fu their asses with a discount - that'll do it. For now.
    • CMRR (Contracted Monthly Recurring Revenue) - this mouthful of a metric measures something important. Just don't try to work it out at home - best left to the big-wig growth hackers at places like Amazon
    • Cash - this one needs no introduction. If you ain't got much of this then you need to start hustling
    • LPC (Lifetime Profit per Customer) - shows you how much you're really making from each sucker, ehm, user over the course of their custom with your shady operation. Pretty useful stuff but a little hard to compute
    • Customer Acquisition Cost Ratio - you know all that VC money that you've been blowing on 'marketing' over the last few months? Well, this metric will tell you how long it will take to recoup it all. One of the more depressing numbers to look at so don't bother with it on Fridays
    • Cost Per Acquisition - you know this one. Oh yeah - you KNOW this one. It's the one the CEO always tells you to keep under control. But then you go and try that new awesomes ad exchange or upload a new custom audience into Facebook. Remember, admitting you have a problem is half the battle

There… Wipe the sweat of your glasses and get back to reading Buzzfeed. Just the fact that you (sort-of) know what these mean puts you well ahead of the pack

Ok, ok. Go and get yourself another soy latte - you deserved it!

Source or Inspiration:

http://readwrite.com/2010/09/05/6-saas-metrics-you-should-trac