What KPIs should a startup use? Why and how build a Balanced Scorecard for a startup? Learn more: https://bscdesigner.com/startup-kpis.htm Main topics of the presentation: - General diagram - 1. Attraction KPIs - 2. Engagement KPIs - 3. Value KPIs - 4. Retention KPIs - 5. Economic KPIs - Automation software - Balanced scorecard for a startup

1. STARTUP
KPIs and Balanced Scorecard
Aleksey Savkin | BSC Designer

2. 1
KPIs for STARTUP
- Traffic metrics
- Organic, direct, paid, social
traffic
- Conversion into trial
- % of clients who unlocked key
functions
- Feedback obtained,
meaningful conversations
- Churn rate
- % of clients who unlocked
key functions
- Paid subscriptions
- The time users spend daily
interacting with your product
- Referrals, NPS, Newsletter
subscriptions
Attraction KPIs Engagement KPIs Value KPIs Retention KPIs
Economic metrics: - Cash flow (Burn rate)
- Customer Acquisition Cost / Lifetime Value (CAC/LTV)
- Revenue, costs, profits
2 3 4
Startup KPIs and Balanced Scorecard | https://bscdesigner.com/startup-kpis.htm

3. We’ll discuss two topics:
KPIs that a startup needs to track once it
passes the “idea” stage.
Using Balanced Scorecard to get a startup
pitch to the next level.
1 2

4. KPIs for Startup
KPIs that a startup needs to track once it
passes the “idea” stage.
1 1. Attraction KPIs
2. Engagement KPIs
3. Value KPIs
4. Retention KPIs
5. Economic KPIs

5. 1. How good we are in attracting prospect
clients?
2. How good we are in engaging users?
3. How much value do we create for our
clients?
4. How good are we in retaining clients?
5. What is our economic sustainability?
What KPIs Should a Startup Company Track?
Formulate your “pains”

6. 1. Attraction KPIs
Traffic metrics (organic, direct, paid, social
traffic)
Reference:
● https://bscdesigner.com/marketing-kpis.htm
● https://bscdesigner.com/social-media-metrics.htm
How good are we in
attracting prospect
clients?

7. 2. Engagement KPIs
Metrics:
● Conversion rate into free trial accounts
or their proxy
● % of clients who unlocked key functions
of the product
● Feedback obtained, meaningful
conversations
Reference:
● https://bscdesigner.com/marketing-kpis.htm
How good are we in
engaging users?
Additional metrics:
● Website metrics (bounce rate, time on
site)
● Social engagement metrics (likes and
shares)
● Mail list metrics (CTR, open rate)
● Returning users rate
● NPS

8. 3. Value KPIs
Metrics:
Paid subscriptions and revenue are the best
indicators of value created.
Useful proxies:
● The time users spend daily interacting
with your product
● Referrals, NPS
● Newsletter subscriptions
How much value do we
create for our clients?
The team is a leading factor of value that your
company creates for the end-users. Once
intuitive management is no longer working
well, look at team-related metrics.
Reference: https://bscdesigner.com/hr-
scorecard.htm

9. 4. Retention KPIs
Metrics:
Churn rate - the percentage of customers who
cancel their subscription in a period.
How good we are in
retaining clients?

10. 5. Economic KPIs
Metrics:
● Burn rate (e.g., negative cash flow), cash
flow
● CAC / LTV (Customer Acquisition Cost /
Lifetime Value)
● Revenue, costs, profits
Where are we trending to
long-term?

11. Automation Software
● If you are bootstrapping then you will
survive with spreadsheet software or
freeware BSC Designer Light
Reference:
https://bscdesigner.com/excel-vs-scorecard-software.htm
https://bscdesigner.com/freeware.htm
● If you have some budget upgrade to the
professional tool to easier implement
KPI/strategy routines in your daily
tasks. In this case, BSC Designer is a
great “out of the box” option.

12. BSC DESIGNER ONLINE

13. Why Does a Startup Need a Balanced Scorecard?
Using Balanced Scorecard to get a startup
pitch to the next level.
2

14. What Balanced Scorecard is and is NOT
● It is: strategy execution framework; it helps to
describe, explain, and execute strategy
● It is not: a set of four perspectives to arrange
KPIs
Reference:
● https://bscdesigner.com/four-perspectives.htm

15. Reason 1. Getting a Clear Understanding of the
Strategy
Finance How do we monetize the value created for customers?
Customers What value do we create for the customers?
Internal How do we create value for customers?
Learning and growth What knowledge/skill gaps do we need to fill in?

18. Reason 2. Pitching Idea to the Investors
Balanced Scorecard framework comes from the
corporate world, and by having a strategy map,
you send to your potential investors a simple
message: “
We did our homework in terms of
strategy… here is how we plan on
executing it…

19. Action Plan
1. Formulate your “pains” (the questions we
started with)
2. Define a few KPIs to track or use the KPIs
from this article
3. Get your strategy map template (online
version or PDF) and fill it in with your team
Reference:
● https://bscdesigner.com/startup-kpis.htm

20. Thank you!
Aleksey Savkin | BSC Designer