Provides formulas, benchmarks, and guidance for:

Revenue metrics (MRR, ARR, growth rates)
Unit economics (CAC, LTV, payback period)
Cash efficiency (burn rate, runway, burn multiple)
SaaS-specific metrics (NDR, magic number, Rule of 40)
Marketplace and consumer metrics
Stage-appropriate focus areas

WHEN To Use

Setting up startup analytics and dashboards
Calculating CAC, LTV, or unit economics
Preparing investor updates or pitch materials
Evaluating business health and efficiency
Understanding what metrics matter at each stage

KEYWORDS

startup metrics, saas metrics, cac, ltv, arr, mrr, burn rate, burn multiple, rule of 40, net dollar retention, magic number, unit economics, marketplace gmv, dau mau

Universal Startup Metrics

Revenue Metrics

MRR = Σ (Active Subscriptions × Monthly Price)
ARR = MRR × 12

MoM Growth = (This Month MRR - Last Month MRR) / Last Month MRR
YoY Growth = (This Year ARR - Last Year ARR) / Last Year ARR

Benchmarks:

Stage	Growth Target
Seed	15-20% MoM
Series A	10-15% MoM, 3-5x YoY
Series B+	100%+ YoY (Rule of 40)

Unit Economics

CAC = Total S&M Spend / New Customers Acquired
LTV = ARPU × Gross Margin% × (1 / Churn Rate)
LTV:CAC Ratio = LTV / CAC
CAC Payback = CAC / (ARPU × Gross Margin%)

Benchmarks:

Metric	Excellent	Good	Concerning
LTV:CAC	> 3.0	1.0-3.0	< 1.0
CAC Payback	< 12 months	12-18 months	> 24 months

Cash Efficiency

Monthly Burn = Monthly Revenue - Monthly Expenses
Runway (months) = Cash Balance / Monthly Burn Rate
Burn Multiple = Net Burn / Net New ARR

Burn Multiple Benchmarks:

Score	Assessment
< 1.0	Exceptional efficiency
1.0-1.5	Good
1.5-2.0	Acceptable
> 2.0	Inefficient

Target: Always maintain 12-18 months runway.

SaaS Metrics

Revenue Composition

Net New MRR = New MRR + Expansion MRR - Contraction MRR - Churned MRR

Retention Metrics

NDR (Net Dollar Retention) = (ARR Start + Expansion - Contraction - Churn) / ARR Start
Gross Retention = (ARR Start - Churn - Contraction) / ARR Start
Logo Retention = (Customers End - New Customers) / Customers Start

NDR Benchmarks:

Range	Assessment
> 120%	Best-in-class
100-120%	Good
< 100%	Needs work

Efficiency Metrics

Magic Number = Net New ARR (quarter) / S&M Spend (prior quarter)
Rule of 40 = Revenue Growth Rate% + Profit Margin%
Quick Ratio = (New MRR + Expansion MRR) / (Churned MRR + Contraction MRR)

Magic Number:

0.75 = Efficient, ready to scale
0.5-0.75 = Moderate efficiency
< 0.5 = Inefficient, don't scale yet

Marketplace Metrics

GMV = Σ (Transaction Value)
Take Rate = Net Revenue / GMV

Typical Take Rates:

Type	Range
Payment processors	2-3%
E-commerce marketplaces	10-20%
Service marketplaces	15-25%
High-value B2B	5-15%

Liquidity Indicators:

Fill rate > 80% = Strong liquidity
Repeat rate > 60% = Strong retention

Consumer/Mobile Metrics

DAU/MAU Ratio = DAU / MAU
K-Factor = Invites per User × Invite Conversion Rate

DAU/MAU Benchmarks:

Ratio	Assessment
> 50%	Exceptional (daily habit)
20-50%	Good
< 20%	Weak engagement

Retention Benchmarks (Day 30):

Rate	Assessment
> 40%	Excellent
25-40%	Good
< 25%	Weak

B2B Sales Metrics

Win Rate = Deals Won / Total Opportunities
Pipeline Coverage = Total Pipeline Value / Quota (target: 3-5x)
ACV = Total Contract Value / Contract Length (years)

Sales Cycle Benchmarks:

Segment	Typical Duration
SMB	30-60 days
Mid-market	60-120 days
Enterprise	120-270 days

Metrics by Stage

Pre-Seed (Product-Market Fit)

Focus: Active users, retention (Day 7/30), engagement, qualitative feedback

Don't worry about: Revenue, CAC, unit economics

Seed ($500K-$2M ARR)

Focus:

MRR growth rate (15-20% MoM)
CAC and LTV baselines
Gross retention (> 85%)
Core product engagement

Start tracking: Sales efficiency, burn rate, runway

Series A ($2M-$10M ARR)

Focus:

ARR growth (3-5x YoY)
LTV:CAC > 3, payback < 18 months
NDR > 100%
Burn multiple < 2.0
Magic number > 0.5

What Investors Want to See

Seed Round

MRR growth rate
User retention
Early unit economics
Product engagement

Series A

ARR and growth rate
CAC payback < 18 months
LTV:CAC > 3.0
NDR > 100%
Burn multiple < 2.0

Series B+

Rule of 40 > 40%
Efficient growth (magic number)
Path to profitability

Dashboard Format:

Current MRR: $250K (↑ 18% MoM)
ARR: $3.0M (↑ 280% YoY)
CAC: $1,200 | LTV: $4,800 | LTV:CAC = 4.0x
NDR: 112% | Logo Retention: 92%
Burn: $180K/mo | Runway: 18 months

Common Mistakes

Vanity Metrics — Focus on actionable metrics, not total users or page views
Too Many Metrics — Track 5-7 core metrics intensely, not 50 loosely
Ignoring Unit Economics — CAC and LTV matter even at seed stage
Not Segmenting — Break down by customer segment, channel, cohort
Gaming Metrics — Optimize for real business outcomes, not dashboards

NEVER Do

NEVER ignore unit economics at any stage — CAC and LTV are always critical
NEVER track vanity metrics (total users, page views) without retention context
NEVER report growth rates without absolute numbers — 100% growth from $1K is different from $1M
NEVER skip segmentation — aggregate metrics hide important patterns
NEVER confuse correlation with causation — investigate before concluding
NEVER set targets without understanding your stage benchmarks
NEVER present metrics without trend context — current value + growth rate + benchmark
NEVER optimize for the metric instead of the underlying business outcome

startup-metrics

Startup Metrics Framework

Installation

OpenClaw / Moltbot / Clawbot

WHAT This Skill Does