# Startup North Star Metric

> Choose a startup North Star metric and a small set of input metrics that reflect real customer value and early growth progress.

- Skill: `contextgo/startup-north-star-metric` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add contextgo/startup-north-star-metric`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/contextgo/startup-north-star-metric/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Marketing & Growth
- Author: contextgo (https://skillmd.com/u/contextgo)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/contextgo/startup-north-star-metric

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# Startup North Star Metric

Use this skill when the startup needs a metric system that reflects customer value, not vanity.

## Use when

- The team needs one metric to align around.
- The startup is choosing what traction should mean.
- Product and GTM work need a shared measurement frame.

## Do not use when

- The user only wants a long KPI list.
- The request is purely OKR drafting without any product-value logic.
- The startup still cannot describe its primary value moment.

## Metric failures to avoid

- picking revenue as the North Star by default
- picking a metric teams cannot influence
- tracking activity that does not reflect value delivered
- defining too many top-level metrics
- treating guardrails and input metrics as the same thing

## Workflow

### 1. Classify the business model

Ask whether the startup behaves mainly like:

- an attention business
- a transaction business
- a productivity business

### 2. Define the value event

Name the customer action or outcome that proves value was delivered.

### 3. Select the North Star metric

The North Star should be:

- easy to understand
- customer-value-first
- actionable by the team
- a leading indicator of durable traction

### 4. Define 3-5 input metrics

Choose metrics the team can move more directly, such as:

- activation quality
- repeat usage
- conversion to first value
- qualified pipeline or demo conversion
- retention of the primary use case

### 5. Add guardrails

Include 1-2 checks that prevent bad optimization, such as:

- retention floor
- quality or satisfaction signal
- cost discipline

## Output format

Return:

### 1. Business model classification

### 2. Customer value event

### 3. Recommended North Star metric

- definition
- why it fits

### 4. Input metrics

- metric
- why it drives the North Star

### 5. Guardrails

### 6. What the team should watch next

## Use together with

- `startup-go-to-market-strategy`
- `startup-startup-canvas`
- `startup-founder-brief`