15 Early-Stage Startup Metrics You Should Track in 2024

As an early-stage startup, you are probably still figuring many things out.

The beginning is always the hardest.

Since 1 in 5 startups fail in the first year the pressure is sometimes too overwhelming.

There are so many things to think about and so many things to test and try out.

When you don't have any previous experience you don't know if what you are doing is right.

There is no data you can use to speed up the process.

You just know you don't want to be that 1 in 5...

However, as much as you might feel confused, it's important to know that you can do something to help yourself.

You can't control a lot of things but you can control the information you collect daily.

By doing so you will see how your business grows day by day.

Tracking metrics is the easiest way to improve your business with the least effort.

It will keep things in perspective and allow you to make the best decisions.

To help you with this we at brigit.dev created a list of key performance indicators or key metrics you should start tracking in 2024.

We also listed tools and ways to keep track of them.

Let's dig in!

Why Is Tracking Metrics Important for Early-Stage Startups and Startups in General?

Metrics provide valuable insights.

They allow you to see the real situation in your startup and make data-driven decisions.

You need to know if your startup is growing and moving in the right direction.

Metrics are a way to measure and track your work and performance.

They translate what you do and how the market responds to it into data you can use to improve your work.

You don't want to realize one day that your marketing and sales efforts are all for nothing because you never collected data.

Don't spend weeks and months stuck on wrong numbers and performance indicators that mean nothing.

Chase the right things and you will never be just another failed statistic.

Benefits of Tracking Early-Stage Startup Metrics

• Better decision making

• Early problem detection

• Proof for investors

• Signals on how to improve product or service

• Increasing profit with minimum effort

• Better planning

• Better positioning

• Improved productivity and efficiency

15 Early-Stage Startup Metrics to Track (And What Tools to Use)

Here are 15 key startup metrics you need to hear about today to gain valuable insights:

1. Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC)

What does it show?

The average cost needed to acquire a new customer. It helps you understand how much you’re spending to gain new business. Based on it you can improve or change your customer acquisition strategies.

How to measure?

• Formula: Total cost of sales and marketing / Number of new customers acquired

• Example: If you spent $15,000 on sales and marketing and acquired 150 new customers, CAC = $15,000 / 150 = $100 per customer.

What tools to use?

CRM systems, accounting software, and marketing analytics tools.

When to measure?

Typically measured monthly or quarterly.

Should it always be measured?

Yes, to manage acquisition costs effectively and optimize your marketing spend.

2. Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

What does it show?

The total revenue expected from a customer throughout their relationship with your company. It helps you understand how valuable a customer is over the long term. The longer they are spending money on your business the better.

How to measure?

• Formula: Average purchase value x Number of transactions x Average customer lifespan (in years)

• Example: If a customer spends $50 per purchase, makes 5 purchases per year, and stays for 3 years, CLV = $50 × 5 × 3 = $750.

What tools to use?

CRM systems, customer data platforms, and analytics platforms.

When to measure?

You should measure it monthly or quarterly. As time goes by you will be able to do it more often.

Should it always be measured?

Yes, to see the long-term value of customers and create strategies for customer retention and acquisition.

3. CLV/CAC

What does it show?

The ratio of Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) to Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC). It shows how much value a customer brings compared to how much it costs to acquire them.

How to measure?

• Formula: CLC/CAC

• Example: If CLV is $750 and CAC is $100, CLV/CAC Ratio = $750 / $100 = 7.5. This means you earn $7.50 for every $1 spent on acquiring a customer.

What tools to use?

CRM systems, and different analytics platforms.

When to measure?

Typically measured monthly or quarterly.

Should it always be measured?

Yes, to understand the profit you make for every $ you spend. This way you can predict future revenue and change your pricing strategy if you see you are losing too much.

4. Lead Conversion Rate (LCR)

What does it show?
The percentage of leads that turn into actual customers. It helps you see how well your sales and marketing strategies convert potential customers. This way you can track your sales funnel better.

How to measure?

• Formula: Number of conversions / Total number of leads

• Example: If you had 600 leads in a month and 60 became paying customers, your lead conversion rate would be 60 / 600 = 10%.

What tools to use?
CRM systems, marketing automation tools, and analytics platforms.

When to measure?
Typically measured monthly, quarterly, or after specific campaigns.

Should it always be measured?
Yes, to improve your sales processes and track your startup's growth.

5. Customer Retention Rate (CRR)

What does it show?
The percentage of customers who use your product or service over a specific period. It helps you understand customer loyalty and the effectiveness of your retention strategies.

How to measure?

• Formula: Number of customers at the end of a period - Number of new customers acquired during the period) / Number of customers at the start of the period

• Example: If you start with 1,000 customers, acquire 300 new ones, and end with 1,100, your retention rate is (1,100 - 300) / 1,000 = 80%.

What tools to use?
CRM systems, customer analytics tools, and subscription management software.

When to measure?
Usually measured monthly, quarterly, or annually, depending on your business model and customer lifecycle.

Should it always be measured?
Yes, to track customer loyalty, rate your retention strategies, and identify areas for improvement to reduce the number of customers who leave.

6. Customer Satisfaction Score (CSS)

What does it show?
It shows how satisfied your customers are with your product, service, or overall experience. It helps you understand customer happiness and loyalty.

How to measure?

• Formula: Customers rate satisfaction on a scale (e.g., 1 to 5)

• Example: If you survey 100 customers and receive a total score of 450, your customer satisfaction score would be 450 / 100 = 4.5.

What tools to use?
Survey tools, CRM systems, and customer feedback platforms.

When to measure?
Typically measured after key customer interactions, every few months or annually. It depends on how much you want to improve customer satisfaction scores.

Should it always be measured?
Yes, to track and improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.

7. Customer Churn Rate (CCR)

What does it show?
The percentage of customers who stop using your product or service over a specific period. It helps you understand customer retention and identify potential issues. This is a critical metric that affects your net profit.

How to measure?

• Formula: Number of customers lost / Number of customers at the start of the period

• Example: If you start with 1,000 customers and lose 60 over a month, your customer churn rate would be 60 / 1,000 = 6%.

What tools to use?
CRM systems, customer support tools, and analytics platforms.

When to measure?
Typically measured monthly or quarterly.

Should it always be measured?
Yes, to manage customer retention and reduce the number of those who leave.

8. Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR)

What does it show?
It shows how much you will earn every month (usually from subscription-based customers). It helps you track your cash balance and business growth.

How to measure?

• Formula: Total revenue in a month / Number of months

• Example: If you have 50 customers each paying $150 per month, your MRR would be 50 × $150 = $7,500.

What tools to use?
Subscription management software, CRM systems, accounting software.

When to measure?
Measured monthly to track monthly revenue and predict future profit.

Should it always be measured?
Yes, to monitor financial health, especially for subscription-based businesses.

9. Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)

What does it show?
The total revenue you can expect over a year. It gives a long-term view of revenue growth based on monthly active users that bring in the profit.

How to measure?

• Formula: Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) × 12

• Example: If your MRR is $5,000, your ARR would be $5,000 × 12 = $60,000.

What tools to use?
Subscription management software, CRM systems, accounting software.

When to measure?
Measured annually or as a projection based on MRR.

Should it always be measured?
Yes, to understand long-term revenue potential and plan for growth. This is a key metric that will tell you if your business model is sustainable or not.

10. Burn Rate

What does it show?
The rate at which you are spending your money. It helps predict how long you can continue to operate before needing additional funding.

How to measure?

• Formula: Total cash spent per month

• Example: If your company is spending $50,000 per month on operations and other expenses, your burn rate is $50,000.that's your burn rate.

What tools to use?
Accounting software, financial planning tools.

When to measure?
Track your monthly burn rate.

Should it always be measured?
Yes, especially for startups, to manage cash flow and plan in case they need new funding. This metric helps you allocate resources effectively.

11. Opportunity History

What does it show?
The record of past sales opportunities, including details like the stages they went through, the outcome, and the factors that influenced the decision. It helps you analyze sales processes and improve for future opportunities.

How to measure?

• Formula: Review and record details of each sales opportunity over time

• Example: If you have 20 opportunities tracked in your CRM, you can analyze their history to identify patterns or areas for improvement.

What tools to use?
CRM systems, sales management software.

When to measure?
Continuously track and review periodically (e.g., quarterly or after each major sales cycle).

Should it always be measured?
Yes, to improve sales strategies and learn from past experiences so you can do better.

12. Net Promoter Score (NPS)

What does it show?
A measure of customer loyalty and satisfaction based on how likely active users are to recommend your product or service to others. It helps you see how satisfied the existing customers are and if you can sell through them.

How to measure?

• Formula: Survey customers, asking them to rate the likelihood of recommending your product on a scale of 0-10. NPS is calculated by subtracting the percentage of Detractors (0-6) from the percentage of Promoters (9-10).

• Example: If 70% of respondents are Promoters and 10% are Detractors, your NPS would be 70 - 10 = 60.

What tools to use?
Survey tools, customer feedback platforms, CRM systems.

When to measure?
Typically measured quarterly or after key customer interactions.

Should it always be measured?
Yes, to track customer loyalty and identify areas for improvement in your product or service. This is a free way to expand your business.

13. Operating Margin

What does it show?
The percentage of revenue left after covering operating expenses, excluding interest and taxes. It shows you how efficiently you are managing costs and generating profit from operations.

How to measure?

• Formula: Operating income (revenue minus operating expenses) / Total revenue

• Example: If your company generates $1,000,000 in revenue and has $800,000 in operating expenses, your operating margin would be $200,000 / $1,000,000 = 20%.

What tools to use?
Accounting software, financial planning tools.

When to measure?
Typically measured quarterly or annually.

Should it always be measured?
Yes, to monitor financial health and profitability, and to guide business strategy.

14. Win/Loss Analysis

What does it show?
An analysis of why sales opportunities were won or lost. It helps you understand the factors that affect your sales outcomes.

How to measure?

• Formula: Review and analyze the outcomes of sales opportunities and identify key factors that led to wins or losses.

• Example: If you won 15 out of 30 sales opportunities, you would analyze the 15 wins to identify patterns or strategies that worked, and the 15 losses to identify areas for improvement.

What tools to use?
CRM systems, sales management software, and analytics tools.

When to measure?
After each sales cycle or every quarter.

Should it always be measured?
Yes, so you can improve sales strategies and increase win rates.

15. Total Addressable Market (TAM)

What does it show?
It shows you the size and potential of the market you are targeting.

How to measure?

• Formula: Estimate the total market demand for your product or service. This can be done by researching industry reports, analyzing competitor performance, or using market sizing techniques.

• Example: If the total market for fitness apps is $10 billion annually and you are targeting a segment that represents 10% of that market, your TAM would be $1 billion.

What tools to use?
Market research tools, industry reports, and analytics platforms.

When to measure?
During the initial market research phase at first. Over time make sure to update it from time to time as market conditions change.

Should it always be measured?
Yes, especially during the early stages or when entering new markets. You need to know if your business can be profitable.

Bonus Metrics Most Overlook as Key Performance Indicators

There are some metrics most early-stage startups forget about but they affect the ones we mentioned the most.

Here are the main ones.

Team Productivity Metrics

Employee Productivity

What does it show?
How well employees finish their tasks. It helps find areas of improvement.

How to measure?

• Formula: Tasks completed / Time spent

• Example: If an employee completes 20 tasks in 40 hours, their productivity rate is 20 tasks / 40 hours = 0.5 tasks per hour.

What tools to use?
Project management tools, time-tracking software, and productivity apps.

When to measure?
Every week and month.

Should it always be measured?
Yes, to make sure that all work is finished and the working process is optimized.

Team Efficiency

What does it show?
How well the team is working together to achieve goals, considering both the speed and quality of their work.

How to measure?

• Formula: Output (e.g., projects completed) / Input (e.g., total hours worked by the team).

• Example: If a team completes 5 projects in a month with 500 combined hours of work, their efficiency is 5 projects / 500 hours = 0.01 projects per hour.

What tools to use?
Project management tools, collaboration platforms, analytics tools.

When to measure?
Monthly or after the completion of major projects.

Should it always be measured?
Yes, so the team always stays on track.

Customer Support Metrics

Response Time

What does it show?
The average time it takes for customer support to respond to a customer inquiry.

How to measure?

• Formula: Total response time / Number of inquiries

• Example: If 100 customer inquiries are responded to in a total of 500 minutes, the average response time is 500 / 100 = 5 minutes per inquiry.

What tools to use?
Customer support software, helpdesk platforms, CRM systems.

When to measure?
Measured continuously and reviewed monthly or quarterly.

Should it always be measured?
Yes, to make sure customers are satisfied.

Resolution Time

What does it show?
The average time it takes to resolve a customer issue from the moment it is reported.

How to measure?

• Formula: Total resolution time / Number of resolved issues

• Example: If 50 issues are resolved in 1,000 minutes, the average resolution time is 1,000 / 50 = 20 minutes per issue.

What tools to use?
Customer support software, helpdesk platforms, CRM systems.

When to measure?
Measured continuously and reviewed monthly or quarterly.

Should it always be measured?
Yes, to improve the customer experience.

Product Development Metrics

Time to Market

What does it show?
The time it takes to develop a product from the initial concept to its launch in the market. It helps to measure the efficiency of your product development process.

How to measure?

• Formula: Time taken from product ideation to the product launch

• Example: If a product takes 6 months to go from concept to market, that's your time to market.

What tools to use?
Project management tools, product development software, and collaboration platforms.

When to measure?
Measured for each product development cycle.

Should it always be measured?
Yes, to improve product development processes and reduce time to market for future products.

Product Quality Metrics

What does it show?
It shows the quality of your product. It is based on defect rates, customer satisfaction, and performance metrics.

How to measure?

• Formula: Number of defects / Number of products delivered, or through customer feedback and testing results

• Example: If 100 products are delivered with 5 reported defects, the defect rate is 5 / 100 = 5%.

What tools to use?
Quality assurance tools, testing software, and customer feedback platforms.

When to measure?
Measured continuously throughout the product development and post-launch phases.

Should it always be measured?
Yes, to keep producing high-quality products that increase customer satisfaction.

How Do Big Companies Use These Metrics Beyond Early-Stage?

By now you've understood that these metrics are something you should work on as long as you are in business.

All the major companies you can think of focus their efforts on improving these metrics.

They employ hundreds of thousands of people to do so.

For example, Amazon focuses a lot on the Customer Retention Rate. They tracked and analyzed this metric from the start to increase the total sales revenue. They noticed that fast shipping and easy returns improve customer retention the most. This is what they are known for now. This focus on CRR helped them dominate the e-commerce market.

Microsoft on the other hand focuses on productivity metrics. What powers this giant is the engineering behind it. This is why they put so much effort into tracking and improving team productivity metrics. They focused on it for years and continue to do so. Because of it, they are one of the leading tech giants in the world.

Another great example is Apple. They pay close attention to time-to-market metrics. It is well known that they put out new products every year. This is why time to market is such an important metric for them. Their business revolves around and the users stay loyal because of it. This is what makes them the leading tech company in the world.

Sum Up

Tracking key metrics is vital for early-stage startups.

These metrics provide valuable insights into customer behavior, team performance, and overall business health.

By understanding and analyzing metrics like Customer Retention Rate, Team Productivity, and Net Promoter Score, you can make informed decisions that lead to growth and success.

These numbers help you identify what's working, what to improve, and what makes a change in your profit.

Ultimately, consistently monitoring these metrics gives you the information you need to achieve long-term success.