Who This Helps
Founder operators who juggle a dozen ideas and need a calm, data-backed way to pick the next experiment. If you have ever stared at a dashboard and felt more confused than informed, this is for you. The Metrics & Dashboards Basics course is built for exactly this moment.
Mini Case
Meet Maya. She runs a small SaaS team and tracks 20 numbers every week. Last month, she spent 3 hours debating whether to improve onboarding or fix a bug. She had no clear signal. After building a weekly scoreboard (a core mission in the course), she cut decision time by 40%. Now she picks one experiment per week based on a single North Star metric and three supporting metrics. Her team moves faster, and they ship 2x more experiments.
Do This Now (5 Steps)
- Pick your North Star metric. Choose one number that tells you if your product is working. For Maya, it was weekly active users.
- Define 3 supporting metrics. These are the levers that move your North Star. Maya picked sign-up rate, activation rate, and retention rate.
- Set realistic targets. Don't guess. Use last month's average as a baseline. Maya set a 12% increase in activation rate as her target.
- Build a weekly scoreboard. List your North Star, supporting metrics, and targets in one view. Update it every Monday.
- Pick one experiment. Look at which metric is farthest from its target. That is your next move. Maya saw activation was lagging, so she ran a 7-day onboarding experiment.
Avoid These Traps
- Tracking too many numbers. Stick to 4-5 metrics max. More noise, less action.
- Changing metrics every week. Give your North Star at least 30 days to show a trend.
- Ignoring guardrails. Set a minimum threshold for each metric. If it drops below, pause experiments and fix the leak first.
- Making decisions alone. Share your scoreboard with the team. One person's hunch is not data.
- Forgetting to celebrate. When you hit a target, take 5 minutes to say "nice work." It keeps the team motivated.
Your Win by Friday
By the end of this week, you will have a one-page scoreboard with your North Star metric, three supporting metrics, and clear targets. You will know exactly which experiment to run next. No more 3-hour debates. Just a calm, data-driven decision in under 10 minutes. And hey, you might even free up Friday afternoon for something fun.