Startup Metrics

Track, calculate, and optimize key performance metrics for startups from seed through Series A. Covers unit economics, growth efficiency, and business models.

Security Scan

The skill is an instruction-only startup-metrics guide whose requested actions and content are consistent with its stated purpose and it does not request credentials, unusual files, or install arbitrary code itself.

Purpose & Capability

Name, description, and content align: the SKILL.md and README provide formulas, benchmarks, and guidance for startup metrics. There are no environment variables, binaries, or config paths requested that fall outside the domain of analytics/metrics guidance.

Instruction Scope

Runtime instructions are purely advisory (metrics, formulas, benchmarks). The only actionable commands are install hints (npx clawhub install, npx add link, and copy-from-local instructions). There are no instructions to read arbitrary system files, transmit user data to external endpoints, or access credentials.

Install Mechanism

There is no formal install spec in the manifest and no code files shipped with the skill; it's instruction-only. The README suggests installing via npx (clawhub) or copying from local skill directories. As a general precaution, installing any tool via npx will execute remote installer code — that risk is external to this skill's content and should be evaluated by reviewing the installer (clawhub) and the source it downloads before running.

Credentials

The skill declares no required environment variables, no credentials, and no config paths. This is proportionate to a documentation/guide skill that only provides formulas and benchmarks.

Persistence & Privilege

Skill metadata does not request always:true and is user-invocable; it does not request persistent system-wide changes or access to other skills' configs. Autonomous invocation is allowed by platform default but not combined with any broad privileges here.

Assessment

This skill appears to be a documentation-style guide for startup metrics and is internally consistent. If you plan to install it via the suggested npx/clawhub commands, review the clawhub installer and any packages it downloads (npx runs remote code) before running. If you prefer a safer approach, inspect the skill files first (from a trusted repo or local copy) rather than running an installer directly. Also validate any numerical benchmarks against your business context before using them in investor materials.

Startup Metrics Framework

Comprehensive guide to tracking, calculating, and optimizing key performance metrics for different startup business models from seed through Series A.

Installation

OpenClaw / Moltbot / Clawbot

npx clawhub@latest install startup-metrics

WHAT This Skill Does

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

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

NEVER Do

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