Lemma
No. 065

Strategy

North Star Metric

A North Star metric is the single measure that best captures the core value a product delivers to its users.

Why it matters

It aligns a whole team around one meaningful goal, preventing scattered efforts and vanity metrics that look good but mean little.

In depth

A good North Star metric reflects genuine user value, not just revenue, and predicts long-term success. Teams break it into supporting input metrics they can influence. Choosing the wrong one can drive teams to optimize the wrong behavior.

Real-world example

For a messaging app, 'messages sent between friends' may be the North Star, since it reflects real, recurring value.

Visual

North-star metric

12.4k

weekly active creators

+ invitesprojects / wkretention
Back to index