What metrics should you track to evaluate the success of an entrepreneurial project?

3 What types of metrics should you track?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to what types of metrics you should track for your entrepreneurial project. It depends on the stage, scope, and sector of your project, as well as your specific goals and objectives. However, a general framework that can help you choose and prioritize your metrics is the Lean Startup methodology, which proposes three types of metrics: innovation metrics, growth metrics, and impact metrics.

4 Innovation metrics

Innovation metrics are a great way to measure how well you are creating and delivering value to your customers or beneficiaries with your project, especially during the early stages when you are testing and validating your problem-solution fit and product-market fit. Examples of such metrics include customer discovery (how many potential customers or beneficiaries have you identified and interviewed?), customer validation (how many customers or beneficiaries have you acquired and retained with your MVP or prototype?), customer satisfaction (how satisfied are your customers or beneficiaries with your value proposition, product, or service? How likely are they to recommend it to others?), and customer feedback (what are the main insights, suggestions, or complaints that you have received from your customers or beneficiaries?).

5 Growth metrics

Growth metrics are essential for measuring the success of your project as it scales and expands. These metrics are particularly relevant during the later stages of your project, when you are validating your business model and growth strategy. Examples of growth metrics include revenue, profitability, users, engagement, and conversion. Revenue measures how much money your project is making, while profitability calculates how much money you are keeping from your revenue after deducting costs. Users track the number of people using your product or service, and engagement measures how often and how long they interact with it. Conversion looks at how many users take desired actions that generate value for your project, such as signing up or buying.

6 Impact metrics

Impact metrics are measurements that assess the success of your social, environmental, or ethical goals and objectives. This is especially pertinent for mission-driven or purpose-driven projects, such as social enterprises, nonprofits, or green businesses. These metrics may include outcomes, indicators, attribution, and sustainability. Outcomes refer to the changes or benefits your project is creating for customers, beneficiaries, or stakeholders. Indicators are the measures used to quantify or qualify these outcomes. Attribution is how much responsibility the project has for these outcomes compared to other factors or actors. Lastly, sustainability is the ability of a project to maintain or increase its impact over time while still being financially viable and ethically sound.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?