This document discusses using OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) for startups. It provides the following information: - OKRs were created at Intel in the 1990s to set goals and measure progress towards objectives. They focus on learning and improvement rather than just results. - OKRs for startups should create accountability with autonomy by informing teams where the company is headed overall each quarter, once product-market fit is achieved. - Objectives are the missions to achieve, while key results are objective metrics to measure progress towards the objectives. Not all KRs need to be fully achieved for the objectives to be considered hits. - The document cautions that OKRs are not a panacea

1. Using OKRs
in Startups

2. Me
General Manager
Founder, CEO
VP Product Development
Chief Product Officer
Venture Partner

3. Me
40m monthly active users
Top 10 fastest growing apps on FB, sold Zynga
15m users, $150m runrate, IPO ‘2000
2.5m units sold, sold in 5,000+ stores

4. What’s actually going on.
May ’07 - Month 2

5. Caveats
• This is not a panacea!
• You will not be certified!
• Leading a team & product takes subtlety
–Charlie Munger
“Mimicking the herd invites regression to the mean.”

6. No one asks to be a
“data driven business”
1. How do I grow faster?!
2. Should I focus on retention first then growth or the other way around?!
3. I've got a team of 12 and I'm trying to figure out how to divide them up.!
4. I've set goals for the company, but they seem disconnected from the day
to day. !
5. Growth is first priority! Should I hire a growth hacker?

7. Setting Goals for Startups
• Andy Grove created OKRs at Intel in the 1990s!
• Ford created OGSM in the 1950s!
• Colonel John Boyd introduced OODA to the Army in 1976!
!
This is, in particular, post-launch products designed for rapid release,
consumer products on transparent platforms. (i.e. FB)

8. Starting with OKRs
• Create accountability with autonomy!
• Let people know where they are
headed over all
John Doer’s OKR Presentation, circa 1999

9. OKRs
• Objective is the mission (subjective)!
• KRs are the measurement of hitting your
mission (objective)!
• You should not be hitting all your KRs, they
are goal posts (more on that later)!
• Quarterly once post product-market fit
Objective: make our users
want to come back
KR1: Day 1 retention +100%
KR2: 25% of DAU signs up
KR3: NPS +10 pts
KR4: Revenue
KR5: CS Ticket response time
KR6: Launch new feature
Not a priority (that’s ok!)
Sample OKRs

10. The problem with just"
talking about goals
• This should be about learning, getting better, not just hitting a mark!
• You should reward for behaviors not just end results

11. A tale of goals
• Objective: make our users want to come back!
• KR1: Time 0n site 30m!
• KR2: Retention 20%/mo, 30% week 1

12. Intent-Based
Product Development
–Eric Reis
“Learn > Build > Measure.”
-Jon Tien
“Pithy comment.”
– Chamath (Facebook)
“Measure, test, try things, throw out
what doesn’t work, do what does.”
The scientific method applied to product.

13. Intent-Based
Product Development
1. Set clear goals!
2. Form ideas on how to hit those goals!
3. Execute!
4. Test those ideas

14. This is not it.
The Einstein Paradox