Technology
34 Startup Metrics for Tech Entrepreneurs
Courtesy of: Funders and Founders
34 Startup Metrics That Tech Entrepreneurs Need to Know
Today’s infographic comes from Funders and Founders and information designer Anna Vital, and it lists the important metrics to gauge traction and success of new startups.
Several years ago, a key challenge with launching a new tech startup venture was that there weren’t many precedents to follow.
- How do you scale a company?
- How do you measure growth and costs in a more meaningful way?
- Does the company have real traction?
Of course, there were knowledgeable people in the tech ecosystem that knew these things – for example, venture capitalists and ex-founders that had been successful with previous ventures – but they were tough to gain access to, and many of their theories and best practices weren’t yet widespread.
Fast forward to today, and the practices around new startups are much more established. While this can be a blessing and a curse to new founders, at least a more standardized set of metrics helps to give founders a sense of where their company stands.
Key Startup Metrics, According to VCs
The infographic from Funders and Founders lists 34 startup metrics for founders to know – but which one should be a focus for new ventures?
Here’s what three bigtime VCs have said about the startup metrics that they consider to be most important at early stages:
“Month-over-Month Organic Growth”
For most companies, MoM organic growth is a very useful metric and depending on the base, 20–50% MoM growth can be good. Retention, referral, and churn are all things we look at, too.
– Aileen Lee, Cowboy Ventures
According to Aileen Lee, who originally came up with the “unicorn” term, organic growth is a particularly useful metric.
On the other hand, Bill Gurley of Benchmark says that monitoring conversions is a comprehensive metric that is a good proxy for several key business areas.
“Conversion Rate”
No other metric so holistically captures as many critical aspects of a web site – user design, usability, performance, convenience, ad effectiveness, net promoter score, customer satisfaction – all in a single measurement.
– Bill Gurley, Benchmark
Paul Graham, of Y Combinator fame, says that the metric depends on the stage. If you have revenue, then revenue growth is the metric you want. If you’re not there yet, user growth is a good proxy.
“Revenue Growth or Active Users”
The best thing to measure the growth rate of is revenue. The next best, for startups that aren’t charging initially, is active users. That’s a reasonable proxy for revenue growth because whenever the startup does start trying to make money, their revenues will probably be a constant multiple of active users.
– Paul Graham, VC and co-founder of Y Combinator
It should also be noted that the most relevant metric to you depends on your business model. For example, MRR (Monthly recurring revenue) and churn rates would be particularly important to SaaS (Software-as-a-service) startups, while MAUs (Monthly active users) and organic traffic may be more important measurements for online media companies.
Technology
Mapped: Internet Download Speeds by Region
North America and East Asia have the speediest internet.
Mapped: Internet Download Speeds by Region
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
In today’s fast-paced world, internet speed isn’t just a convenience—it’s the driving force behind how we work, play, and connect.
In this map, we illustrate median download speeds in each global region, based on data from the World Bank’s Digital Progress and Trends Report 2023.
North America and East Asia Have the Speediest Internet
According to the World Bank, download speeds in high-income countries increased significantly between 2019 and 2023, while speeds in lower-income countries stagnated.
As of 2022, North America and East Asia have the speediest internet.
Region | Median mobile download speed (Mb/sec) | Median fixed broadband download speed (Mb/sec) |
---|---|---|
East Asia & Pacific | 90 | 171 |
Europe & Central Asia | 44 | 85 |
Latin America & the Caribbean | 26 | 74 |
Middle East & North Africa | 36 | 36 |
North America | 83 | 193 |
South Asia | 27 | 43 |
Sub-Saharan Africa | 16 | 15 |
This difference in broadband speeds can mainly be attributed to investment.
In 2020, nearly 90% of global telecommunication investment came from East Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, and North America. These regions not only concentrate the highest-income population but also the top technology hubs.
Meanwhile, low- and middle-income regions such as Latin America and the Caribbean, South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for less than 10% of total investment.
Most of the investment is directed towards fiber optic and 5G mobile networks. According to the mobile industry association GSMA, mobile operators alone are projected to invest more than $600 billion between 2022 and 2025, with 85% of the total allocated for 5G.
In 2023, broadband speeds in high-income countries were 10x faster for fixed connections, and 5x faster for mobile connections compared to those in low-income countries.
Fixed broadband connections, which provide high-speed internet to residences or businesses, reached 38% of the population in high-income countries. In comparison, fixed broadband penetration was only 4% of the population in lower-middle-income countries and almost zero in low-income countries.
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