

SaaS Vanity Metrics - ashrust
http://gigaom.com/2014/02/08/say-no-to-saas-vanity-metrics/

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danielsju6
Out of curiosity, I see a lot of "negative" articles here. What you shouldn't
be doing for metrics, how you suck because you don't collect metrics, etc. but
I've seen very few great articles on constructive metrics and how best to
collect them.

I'm sure this is something we all struggle with and, having done a couple
startups, I feel like I have a pretty good idea what my investors and fellow
stakeholders expect to see. Does anyone have any great articles bookmarked on
what metrics SaaS startups should be collecting, formulas, etc.?

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pmjoyce
I consider David Skok's article on SaaS metrics[1] to be the best articulated
and actionable source on this topic. It contains definitions of metrics, why
they're important and even an Excel template that I've adapted to run my own
SaaS business on. His article on the impact of churn on SaaS businesses[2] is
also a must read even if you think you have a handle on it.

Another great source is Christoph Janz's blog, in particular his KPI dashboard
for early-stage SaaS startups[3].

[1] [http://www.forentrepreneurs.com/saas-
metrics-2/](http://www.forentrepreneurs.com/saas-metrics-2/)

[2] [http://www.forentrepreneurs.com/why-churn-is-critical-in-
saa...](http://www.forentrepreneurs.com/why-churn-is-critical-in-saas/)

[3] [http://christophjanz.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/a-kpi-
dashboard-...](http://christophjanz.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/a-kpi-dashboard-
for-early-stage-saas.html)

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nickpresta
A question regarding the HEU and MAUs -- how do you know when to balance
reducing churn of those MAUs (getting them to come back after 72 hours) and
focusing on the HEU?

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ashrust
We've found that people who come back after 3 days, are very likely to be
there in 30 days, assuming the product solves their problem. In general, we
treat them as steps in the funnel - complete signup to become MAU, come back
in 3 days to be HEU. We look at where in the funnel we're currently failing
and spend time on that piece.

