Who This Helps
If you're a founder feeling pulled in ten directions, this is for you. The Metrics & Dashboards Basics course shows you how to stop reacting to noise and start focusing on what moves the needle. You'll learn to build a system you trust, so you can make calm, confident decisions every week.
Mini Case
Maya's team was tracking 20 different numbers. It was chaos. She spent 3 hours every Monday just trying to figure out what happened last week. She built a simple weekly scoreboard with just 4 key metrics. Now, she knows in 5 minutes if they're on track, and her team is 30% faster at deciding what to test next.
Do This Now (5 Steps)
- Pick Your North Star. Choose the single most important metric that shows real customer value. Is it weekly active users? Monthly recurring revenue? Just one.
- Find Three Friends. Define 3 supporting metrics that directly influence your North Star. For example, if your North Star is sign-ups, a supporting metric could be website visitors.
- Set Simple Targets. Give each supporting metric a realistic, weekly target. Don't aim for the moon—aim for a 5% improvement.
- Build Your Scoreboard. Open your analytics tool (like Google Sheets or a simple dashboard). Create one section for your North Star and another for your three supporting metrics with their targets.
- Check It Every Monday. Make this a 10-minute ritual. Did you hit your targets? What's the one experiment that could help you hit them next week?
Avoid These Traps
- Tracking Vanity Metrics. Likes and page views feel good but often don't lead to revenue. Focus on actions that correlate with money or retention.
- Building a Frankenstein Dashboard. Too many charts cause paralysis. Start with your 4 metrics. You can always add more later.
- Forgetting the 'Why'. A number went up or down. So what? Always note the reason next to the metric. Was it a marketing campaign? A product bug?
- Setting and Forgetting. Your business changes. Review your core metrics every quarter to make sure they're still the right ones. It's like checking your car's alignment.
Your Win by Friday
By this Friday, you'll have a clean, one-page view of your business health. No more digging through scattered reports. You'll know exactly which metric needs love, and your team will have a clear, high-impact experiment to run next week. You got this.