Consumer Startup Metrics | Startup School

TL;DR

Consumer startups must prioritize organic growth (virality and network effects) over paid acquisition to scale. Target 15% month-over-month user growth; below 5% is unlikely to succeed. Unit economics (revenue minus variable costs per customer) must be positive before scaling. Net Promoter Score (NPS) should be at least +50; measure it consistently.

Key insights

• Growth rate of 15% month-over-month yields 5x user base per year; 10% growth gives ~3x; 5% or lower is unlikely to achieve breakout success.
• Organic growth (virality + network effects) is superior to paid because it compounds indefinitely, whereas paid stops when spending stops.
• Virality: one user introduces others naturally during product use (e.g., Facebook photo tagging, Wordle score sharing). Network effect: product gets more valuable as more users join (e.g., WhatsApp, M