KPIs are specific metrics used to measure a startup's progress towards achieving its goals. They provide a way for startups to track their performance over time and make data-driven decisions about how to allocate resources and make improvements.
KPIs can vary depending on the startup's goals and industry, but they generally fall into four categories: financial, customer, process, and learning and growth. Financial KPIs measure the startup's financial performance, such as revenue, profit margin, and return on investment. Customer KPIs measure the startup's customer satisfaction and loyalty, such as customer acquisition, retention rate, and net promoter score. Process KPIs measure the efficiency and effectiveness of the startup's operations, such as inventory turnover, time to market, and defect rate. Learning and growth KPIs measure the startup's ability to innovate and develop its employees, such as employee engagement, training hours, and product innovation.
KPIs are important because they provide a clear picture of a startup's progress and can help identify areas that need improvement. By tracking KPIs over time, startups can set goals, make data-driven decisions, and monitor their progress towards achieving their objectives.
The right KPIs for a startup depend on its goals, industry, and stage of growth. Startups should choose KPIs that are specific, measurable, relevant, and time-bound.
Startups should review their KPIs on a regular basis, such as monthly or quarterly, to track their progress and make data-driven decisions.
If a startup's KPIs are not meeting expectations, it may need to adjust its strategy, allocate resources differently, or make other changes to improve its performance.
A SaaS startup may track KPIs such as monthly recurring revenue, customer acquisition cost, churn rate, and customer lifetime value.
An e-commerce startup may track KPIs such as conversion rate, average order value, cart abandonment rate, and customer acquisition cost.
"Key Performance Indicators (KPI): The 75 Measures Every Manager Needs to Know" by Bernard Marr
"Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs" by John Doerr
"Lean Analytics: Use Data to Build a Better Startup Faster" by Alistair Croll and Benjamin Yoskovitz.