The document discusses key metrics that startup founders should track to manage their business, including cash, product, marketing, sales, customers, support, and team. It recommends building a management dashboard to track 7 core metrics on a monthly basis: cash/burn rate, product progress, marketing validation and costs, sales metrics, customer growth and costs, customer satisfaction, and team alignment. The dashboard should be simple, focus on meaningful metrics, and have accountability; and monthly reports can standardize progress tracking for the board while focusing on learning.

1. The Art of
Startup Finance
How to define and manage
your success metrics
European Innovation Academy
July 2015
Bill Reichert
@billreichert
Managing Director
Garage Technology Ventures
Capital for Innovation

2. Startup Finance is not …
• Business School finance
• Fundraising
• Marketing metrics
The Art of Startup Finance

3. Startup Finance is …
• Turning your vision into a
business
• Validating and scaling your
business
The Art of Startup Finance

4. The Art of Startup Finance

5. The Art of Startup Finance
Your Management Dashboard:
Key Metrics
for your startup company
The top seven metrics you need to measure,
monitor, and manage

6. 1. Cash
- What is your Burn?
- How much Runway do you have?
The Art of Startup Finance

7. 2. Product
- Are you on time, on budget?
- How do users rate your features?
The Art of Startup Finance

8. 3. Marketing
- What makes customers come to you?
- Validation of Core Value Proposition
- Cost per qualified lead?
The Art of Startup Finance

9. 4. Sales
- Sales force productivity?
- Sales cycle? Conversion rate?
The Art of Startup Finance

10. 5. Customers
- Growth rate of customer base?
- Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)?
- Profitability (CLV/CAC)?
The Art of Startup Finance

11. 6. Support
- Customer satisfaction/engagement?
- Customer churn?
The Art of Startup Finance

12. 7. Team
- Alignment and morale?
- Recruiting and retention rates?
The Art of Startup Finance

13. The Art of Startup Finance
CustomersCash Team
Product Marketing Sales Support
Startup Management Dashboard

14. Confidential14
The Art of Startup Finance

15. Confidential15
The Art of Startup Finance

16. Confidential16
The Art of Startup Finance

17. Other Metrics:
• Price: How do you test price/value assumptions?
• Costs: Do you have alternative cost models?
• Competition: Can you measure market share?
• Channels: Profitability of alternate channels?
• Revenue streams: Assumptions vs. reality?
• Operations: Manufacturing, distribution, etc.?
• Others? …
The Art of Startup Finance

18. Building and Using your Management Dashboard:
• Simple: The best is the enemy of the good
• Open: Templates and investment create tunnel vision
• Meaningful: Monitor metrics that really matter
• Flexible: Drop metrics that outlive their usefulness
• Accountable: Each metric must have an owner.
The Art of Startup Finance

19. Final Note: Monthly Management Reports
• Standardize early: Produce monthly financials,
dashboard summary, and key action items
• Board package: Company driven, not investor driven;
but solicit investor input
• Tools vs. Grades: Focus on learning and responding,
not grading and punishing.
The Art of Startup Finance

20. The Art of
Startup Finance
Online course at
Kauffman
Founders School
Resources for Entrepreneurs
http://www.entrepreneurship.org/Founders-School/The-Art-of-Startup-Finance.aspx

21. Art of the Start
Online course at
Skillshare.com
Resources for Entrepreneurs

22. www.garage.com
GARAGE TECHNOLOGY VENTURES
RESOURCES FOR ENTREPRENEURS
Jumpstart your startup
WWW.GARAGE.COM

23. For questions, comments, or slides:
Email: reichert@garage.com
Twitter: @billreichert
Contact Information

24. The Art of
Startup Finance
Bill Reichert
Managing Director
Garage Technology Ventures
Capital for Innovation