When you first start your business, it can be difficult to know if you’re doing the right thing. Each decision you make can have a ripple effect—either positive or negative—that can impact how successful your business is in the long term.
However, while there’s no crystal ball to offer clear predictions, there are key metrics startup leaders can track that can show them if they’re on the right path. Here, 20 business experts from Forbes Business Council draw on their years of experience to share the top metrics you can track early on to ensure you’re headed toward growth, sustainability and success.
1. Lead-To-Customer Velocity
Lead-to-customer velocity measures how quickly leads convert to paying customers, indicating your funnel’s efficiency and product-market resonance. A shorter velocity signals faster revenue, deeper validation and a solid growth engine. It helps leaders pinpoint friction, refine processes and scale sustainably. – Mustafa Saeed
2. Customer Acquisition Cost
Customer acquisition cost (CAC) is a key metric, as it shows how efficiently the business is attracting customers. Tracking CAC helps leaders assess the sustainability of their growth strategy and identify opportunities to optimize marketing and sales efforts. – Eran Mizrahi, ingredient brothers
3. The Customer Experience
A company can have a great brand, product or service, but if customers have a bad experience, it will tarnish the brand and result in churn. Use a net promoter survey (NPS) to get candid feedback. Follow-up is key and can lead to better retention and even help expand your sales footprint. NPS done right (with follow-through) can help you build customer trust. – Tim Pratte, Selerix Systems
4. Customer Retention Rate
Customer retention rate is a key metric for startups. It gauges how well you’re meeting customer needs and delivering value. High retention signals product-market fit, customer satisfaction and loyalty, driving sustainable growth and lowering acquisition costs. By tracking retention, leaders can refine offerings and enhance long-term success. – Michael Lanctot, YoungNRetired
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5. Product-Market Fit
One key metric to focus on early is product-market fit—that moment when the product finds its place and customers respond with genuine demand. It’s the clearest sign that the product meets market needs, driving adoption and building the momentum for scalable growth. – Brett Husak, PayBlox
6. Retention With Referrals
One key metric is retention with referrals—are your ideal customers sticking around and referring others? Even if one to two people do this, you’re golden. It signals strong demand, product-market fit and willingness to pay. High retention shows value delivery, while referrals prove satisfaction and organic growth potential, ensuring sustainable success. – Shubham Nigam, Quest Labs AI
7. Burn Rate
Burn rate is a critical metric for startups, as it shows how quickly funds are being spent. If you have only three months of runway left, it’s a red flag—you’re on the brink of running out of money. Remember, starting to seek funding when you’re already in survival mode is a mistake. Raising capital takes time, and investors pay close attention to your runway. – Egor Karpovich, Travel Code Inc.
8. The Ratio Of Repeat Customers To New Customers
The ratio of repeat customers to new customers reveals whether your startup builds loyalty and genuine value or cycles through one-time buyers. A strong ratio shows you’re solving real problems, creating advocates and setting the stage for sustainable growth. It directly signals whether your business is resonating deeply or just scratching the surface. – Bianca B. King, Seven5 Seven3 Marketing Group
9. Engagement Vs. Drop-Off Rate
Engagement versus drop-off rate is a key metric to start with. It reveals if your product solves a real problem by tracking how deeply users engage before losing interest. High engagement with low drop-off signals you’re building something valuable. Many popular, free solutions started this way, paving their path to product-market fit and growth. – Majeed Hosseiney, Cloudpay
10. The Customer Love Index
The “customer love index” is a mix of satisfaction, retention and advocacy. It reveals how much value customers see in your product, their loyalty and their willingness to promote it. By combining NPS, repeat purchases and organic enthusiasm, this metric signals early product-market fit and emotional connections, ensuring your startup is on a path to growth and sustainability. – Khurram Akhtar, Programmers Force
11. Cash Flow
One key metric startup leaders can start tracking early on is cash flow. This metric offers a clear picture of money coming in and going out, helping to ensure the business can cover expenses and invest in growth. Positive cash flow indicates financial health, while negative trends highlight areas needing adjustment to maintain sustainability and success. – Matthew Davis, GDI Insurance Agency, Inc.
12. Net Promoter Score And Employee Net Promoter Score
A key metric that can be used by businesses and people leaders is a net promoter score (NPS), which measures how likely your customers are to recommend you to colleagues or friends. A version of this metric that is also used for people leaders is the employee net promoter score (eNPS), which gauges employee satisfaction. Both will provide metrics to predict future success and engagement. – Alberta Johnson, People Experts LLC
13. Proactive Customer Reach-Outs
Here’s a counterintuitive one from my bootstrapping days: “proactive customer reach-outs.” Not complaints—I mean customers spontaneously sharing wins or ideas. When clients start treating you like a partner rather than a vendor, you’ve struck gold. That’s when you know you’ve built more than a product—you’ve created an indispensable engine for your clients’ success. – Samuel Darwin, Sparkle
14. Time To Value
Track your time to value (TTV)—how quickly customers see benefits from your product or service. A short TTV means faster customer satisfaction, stronger retention and more referrals, fueling organic growth. It highlights inefficiencies in onboarding or delivery, helping you refine processes to scale effectively while keeping customers happy and engaged. – Sam Nelson, Downstreet Digital
15. Gross Volume
One key metric startup leaders can track is gross volume (current period versus previous period). This metric highlights percentage growth, offering insights into revenue momentum and customer traction. By analyzing trends, leaders can evaluate product-market fit, measure sustainability and ensure their business is scaling as expected for long-term success. – Dr. Clemen Chiang, Spiking
16. Lead Conversion Rate
Lead conversion rate is a powerful indicator of how effectively your sales team, pitch and marketing efforts are converting leads into customers. If the rate is low, it’s a sign to refine your strategy. A high conversion rate shows you’re reaching the right audience, delivering a compelling message and driving revenue, putting your startup on the path to sustainable growth and success. – Raquel Gomes, Stafi
17. Net Revenue Retention
I advise keeping a close eye on net revenue retention (NRR). It shows how well you’re growing revenue from existing customers through upsells and expansions, while accounting for downgrades and churn. By tracking NRR trends, leaders can assess customer success, evaluate product stickiness and gauge the true health of their customer base. – Muhammed Uzum, Grape Law Firm PLLC
18. Number Of Paying Users
As a startup, you can keep attracting more investment, but if your paying user base is not growing, you don’t have a viable and sustainable company. Every business needs customers to make money; if not, you are just burning cash and eventually you will run out of money and runway. – Minna Hu, AI Bookkeeper
19. Return On Ad Spend
The metric you should be tracking is the return on ad spend (ROAS) for a given period. If you are spending too much acquiring users who aren’t really generating revenue, that spells doom for your startup. You might have an impressive product with lots of users, but if it doesn’t translate to revenues, it could all be a waste of time and effort. – Zain Jaffer, Zain Ventures
20. Growth In Priority Channels
Honestly, just track growth in specific channels you’ve prioritized, whatever those might be. These metrics will show if your efforts in key areas are driving results. For instance, monitoring organic search traffic helped us refine our SEO strategy. Focusing on channel-specific growth ensures resources are used efficiently and guides adjustments for sustainable success. – Brandon Aversano, Alloy Market
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