Choosing Your North Star Metric

This is a short announcement newsletter pointing readers to a guest post Lenny Rachitsky wrote for a16z's Future site on choosing a North Star Metric. The guide draws on a survey of current and former employees at more than 40 successful growth-stage companies. The author frames the North Star Metric as inseparable from strategy, arguing that choosing one is really choosing how a company will win. The main value of the piece lies in the full guide linked from this email, which this item itself does not contain. Because this email only promotes that external article, its own substance is limited to pointing readers to it.

01Key takeaways

• Treat your North Star Metric as a statement of strategy, not merely a dashboard number.
• Choose the metric carefully, since it shapes what the whole team optimizes for.
• Look to how successful growth-stage companies have selected their metrics, drawing on the cited survey of 40+ companies.
• Read the full guide linked in the email for the detailed framework and examples.

02Key sections

Announcing the guest post

The author shares that he wrote a guest article for Future, a16z's new media site, and expresses enthusiasm about it. He directs readers to the full post.

Basis of the research

The guide is built on a survey of current and past employees at over 40 growth-stage companies. This grounds its recommendations in practitioner experience rather than theory alone.

Core thesis

The author argues that a North Star Metric and a company's strategy are essentially the same thing. Choosing the metric is therefore a strategic decision, not just an analytics choice.

Invitation for feedback

The email closes by asking readers for comments and questions on the piece, with a link to discussion on his newsletter site.

03From the post

“This is just quick email to let you know I wrote a guest post for Future (a16z’s new media site) that I’m pretty excited about. It’s a guide for helping you choose your North Star Metric(s), based on a survey of current and past employees at over 40 of today’s most successful growth-stage companies. Check out the table below for a glimpse of what you’ll find. Your North Star Metric is your strategy, and your strategy is your North Star Metric. I hope this guide helps you choose wisely. Read the full post If you have any feedback, questions, or thoughts, I’d love to hear it in the comments. Read the full post Have a fulfilling and productive week 🙏”

04Frameworks mentioned

Summary and takeaways written by PM Atlas; quotes are short excerpts. © the original author.