Guide · EasyCofounder
Startup metrics: which KPIs to track and how
Between analytics dashboards and investor questions, it is easy to drown in numbers. This guide explains which metrics to track at each stage, how to calculate them simply, how to share them between co-founders and which ones to ignore. The specific signals of product-market fit are covered in our [product-market fit](/en/co-founder/product-market-fit) guide.
Updated on 6 min readBy the EasyCofounder team
In short
- A few metrics chosen for your stage and model beat an overloaded dashboard.
- The essentials are retention, recurring revenue, churn, CAC, LTV, gross margin, burn rate and runway.
- A dashboard shared by co-founders and reviewed on fixed dates also feeds your investor updates.
Contents
Which metrics should you track at each stage?
The right metrics change as the company matures: what matters before your first customers is not what matters when it is time to scale.
| Stage | Key question | Priority metrics |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-launch | Is the problem real? | Interviews held, waiting-list sign-ups, pre-orders |
| First users | Is the product used, and used again? | Activation rate, cohort retention, usage frequency |
| First revenue | Do customers pay and stay? | MRR or revenue, churn, conversion to paid |
| Growth | Is growth profitable and repeatable? | CAC, LTV, gross margin, CAC payback period |
| Every stage | How long can we last? | Cash, burn rate, runway |
The business model matters as much as the stage: a subscription software company tracks recurring revenue, a marketplace its transaction volume and the share it keeps, a consumer app its active users and retention.
How do you calculate the main metrics?
Definitions vary from one company to another. What matters is choosing one, writing it down and keeping it over time so that comparisons make sense.
| Metric | Definition | General formula |
|---|---|---|
| MRR and ARR | Monthly and annual recurring revenue | MRR = sum of active monthly subscriptions, ARR = MRR × 12 |
| Churn | Share of customers or revenue lost over a period | Churn = customers lost in the period ÷ customers at the start of the period |
| Cohort retention | Share of a group of customers who joined in the same month still active later | Active cohort members in month N ÷ initial cohort size |
| CAC | Cost of acquiring one customer | CAC = sales and marketing spend ÷ new customers acquired |
| LTV | Value of a customer over their whole lifetime | LTV = gross margin per customer per month × average lifetime in months |
| Gross margin | Revenue left after the direct costs of delivering the product | Gross margin = (revenue − direct costs) ÷ revenue |
| Burn rate | Cash consumed each month | Net burn = cash out − cash in for the month |
| Runway | Months left before cash runs out | Runway = available cash ÷ monthly net burn |
| Activation | Share of new users who reach the first moment of value | Activated users ÷ new sign-ups |
Why think in cohorts?
Overall averages hide trends: fast sign-up growth can mask worsening retention. Cohort analysis tracks each group of customers who joined in the same period separately.
- 1Group customers by the month they joined.
- 2For each cohort, measure the share still active or paying after one, two, three months and beyond.
- 3Compare cohorts to see whether recent ones retain better than older ones.
A management app for community associations sees sign-ups double after a campaign. Its cohort table shows that users from that campaign leave much faster than those who came through referrals, so the co-founders cut back on the campaign channel and focus on referrals.
A retention curve that flattens out instead of sliding towards zero is one of the clearest signals. How to read it in detail is part of product-market fit.
How do you build a dashboard between co-founders?
A shared dashboard stops each co-founder from keeping their own numbers and definitions, and grounds discussions in shared facts rather than impressions.
- A single source of truth that every co-founder can access.
- A written definition for each metric, with its data source.
- One owner per metric, responsible for updating and explaining it.
- Quarterly targets set together, with the assumptions behind them.
Which review rituals should you set up?
- A short weekly review of the primary metric and current actions.
- A fuller monthly review: revenue, churn, cohorts, cash and runway.
- A quarterly session to revisit targets, budget and, if needed, co-founder roles.
How should you present your metrics to investors?
Investors look at the trend, consistent definitions and the founders’ ability to explain their numbers, more than at any single figure.
- Send a regular update, monthly or quarterly, with the same metrics each time.
- Share bad news as well as good, together with the planned actions.
- Include cash and runway in every update.
- Make specific asks: introductions, hires, advice.
The same figures feed the valuation discussion during a round, while projections belong in the business plan. When you are ready to show your numbers, you can present your project to the investors on EasyCofounder.
Which metric traps should you avoid?
The main trap is the vanity metric: a flattering number that rises almost automatically but does not help you make any decision.
- Tracking cumulative sign-ups or downloads instead of active users.
- Changing a definition along the way to make a figure look better.
- Calculating CAC without including the sales team’s salaries.
- Looking at an overall average instead of cohorts.
A good metric is actionable, comparable over time and understood the same way by every co-founder.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most important metric for a startup?
It depends on the stage and model. Before revenue, retention of the first users is often the most revealing, then recurring revenue growth, and at all times runway, which shows how long the company can last.
What is the difference between burn rate and runway?
Burn rate measures the cash consumed each month. Runway derives from it the number of months left before cash runs out, by dividing available cash by monthly net burn.
Is there a good LTV to CAC ratio?
Benchmarks are often quoted, but they are only rules of thumb to adapt to your sector, real customer lifetime and stage. What matters is that a customer’s value clearly covers the cost of acquiring them, with a safety margin.
How often should you send investor updates?
Monthly or quarterly is common. What matters most is regularity, stable metrics from one update to the next and transparency about difficulties.
Glossary
- MRR
- Monthly recurring revenue, the sum of active subscriptions expressed per month.
- Churn
- The share of customers or revenue lost during a period.
- Runway
- The number of months the company’s cash can fund the business at the current rate.
- Vanity metric
- A flattering figure that does not support any useful decision.
Find a co-founder
Meet a co-founder to run your numbers with
Find your co-founder
By role
Near you
Further reading
- Reaching product-market fitProduct-market fit: what it means, the signals that do not lie, retention and usage metrics, the customer survey and a method to get closer to it.
- Writing your business planWriting a startup business plan: structure, financial forecast, cash flow plan, credible assumptions, scenarios and the mistakes that undermine credibility.
- Valuing your startupStartup valuation explained: pre-money and post-money, how to work out the stake you give up, early-stage methods and how to negotiate without selling cheap.
- Dividing co-founder rolesHow to divide roles between co-founders: CEO, CTO, COO, CPO, decision areas, tie-breaking, how roles change as you grow and how to put it in writing.
About this guide
This guide was written by the EasyCofounder team — a platform that connects founders, talents and startups — and was last updated on November 11, 2026. It draws on common startup practice and on the questions our members ask.
How we write, review and update our guides is explained on our About page.
It provides general guidance and is not legal, tax or financial advice. For your own situation, consult a qualified professional (lawyer, accountant) and the official resources available in your country.