Goal Setting in Startup Environments

Here’s how I do yearly planning for our business. We grew 88% last year, 35% the year before, 182% three years ago… So this strategy has proven to work for us: 1) Define your Goal. I loosely use the S.M.A.R.T. framework to define my goal — especially focusing on a clear numeric goal. Clarity and objectivity in your goal setting gives you ALIGNMENT with your team. If your goal is just “growth”, everyone thinks of growth subjectively and your team will be confused on what actions to take to get there. Define what success actually means. 2) Pick secondary Metrics. What levers impact your goal? If you have a lagging indicator as your goal (like revenue or customers), it’s especially useful to track leading indicators as your secondary Metrics. For example, with our goal of new customers, a leading top of funnel (ToFU) metric I track is signups. A middle of funnel metric I track are key product usage levers like how many people take certain actions. I track 1-6 leading Metrics that help me identify strong and weak levers towards our goal. 3) List Outcomes towards the goal. Start simple by focusing on a handful of outcomes for January or Q1. I like the saying “it’s not magic, it’s math”. Don’t hope for your goal to happen magically. Back into your number using math. For our team in 2024, the goal is number of customers. We define Outcomes as strategies or actions that help us accomplish the number of new customers. For example, in January we’re planning a Product Hunt launch, some targeted emails, affiliate opportunities, and a lot of continuation of successful 2023 actions. Many early-stage businesses I know in the $100,000 to $2 million range get overwhelmed because there are so many things they can do. Instead, focus on SIMPLICITY and the right actions by defining your goal, metric, and outcomes. It makes things a lot easier.

Setting Growth-Stage Goals for 2024: A Leader's Guide Growth-stage leaders face constant pressure to push boundaries and scale our businesses. But without well-defined goals and a clear North Star metric, navigating this rapid growth can be chaotic. Here's a process-oriented approach to set ambitious yet achievable goals for 2024, including establishing a North Star Metric that unites your entire team: 1. Review 2023: - Reflect on achievements, challenges, and room for improvement. - Examine 2024 industry trends and roadblocks. 2. Vision Setting: - Visualize your business in the next 3-5 years, guided by your core values. This vision steers your goals and North Star Metric. 3. Identify Key Drivers: - Understand 3-5 factors impacting your growth: customer acquisition, product development, operational efficiency. 4. North Star Metric: - Define your primary value proposition (CAC, LTV, Profit, etc.) - Choose a metric that measures customer value. - Ensure it aligns with your growth objectives and is easily comprehensible company-wide. Examples: - Spotify: Time spent listening - Airbnb: Nights booked - Slack: Daily active users 5. Goal Setting: - Define clear, motivating, and achievable goals. - Encourage team discussions to build understanding and buy-in. - Incorporate stretch goals to push beyond comfort zones. 6. Goal Cascading: - Break down goals into departmental and individual objectives. - Ensure all understand their role in achieving the bigger picture and contributing to the North Star Metric. 7. Continuous Improvement: - Regularly track your progress. - Adjust your goals and metric based on market changes and in-house data. - Celebrate victories and address hurdles transparently. 8. Prioritize Well-being: - Maintain a healthy work-life balance and foster open communication. By following this process and focusing on a shared North Star Metric, you can set meaningful goals that propel your business forward while creating a positive, united, and high-performing team. Remember, the journey to achieving your goals is just as important as the destination itself. So, embrace the challenges, celebrate successes, and lead your team with purpose and clarity into 2024!

“OKRs Don’t Work for Startups.” Wrong. Most founders just set them up to fail. Some say OKRs don’t fit startups - too corporate, too rigid, too slow. Then they roll them out anyway: 10 goals. 20 initiatives. A 15-person team. • Rebrand the website (and overhaul positioning) • Double ARR (while slashing CAC) • Fix churn (without adding headcount) • Ship 3 major features (and revamp the roadmap) • Hire Sales, RevOps & CS - ASAP • ... All in a single quarter Three months later? Nothing has changed. Most startups don’t have an OKR problem. They have a focus problem. "I recently led a masterclass on OKRs for a VC firm with a portfolio of 15+ Series A+ startups. Across the board, the same struggles kept surfacing: ↳ Founders frustrated when OKRs don’t drive results. ↳ Teams overwhelmed because priorities keep shifting. ↳ Execution stalled because the team isn’t aligned with the big picture. The fix isn’t ditching OKRs - it’s implementing them the right way. Here is how to make OKRs that actually work: 1/ Set the right foundation (top of the strategy pyramid) ↳ Align the team on Mission, Vision & Values (pivot if needed, but start with direction) ↳ Set 3-5 strategic objectives that truly move the business forward ↳ Lock in at least a 6-month focus - no shiny object syndrome. 2/ Align the team upfront ↳ Assign clear owners for each objective ↳ Define key initiatives that will drive measurable progress. ↳ Keep teams lean, focused and accountable 3/ Track weekly, adjust quarterly ↳ Measure leading indicators weekly, report on outcomes ↳ Identify blockers early and adjust execution, not strategy ↳ Avoid constantly resetting OKRs - adapt execution instead. 4/ Revisit & refine OKRs quarterly ↳ Assess what worked and what didn’t; don’t roll over old goals. ↳ Refine based on execution learnings and adjust initiatives & ownership. ↳ Set OKRs that align with the next stage; don’t keep what’s no longer relevant. OKRs don’t fail startups. Startups fail their OKRs. What’s your experience with OKRs? ♻ Share this with a founder who needs to see it. And follow Mariya Valeva for more

I met with a founder last week who had three different goal-setting frameworks running simultaneously. His team was drowning in metrics but missing their targets. Sound familiar? This happens when we chase too many frameworks instead of building one that actually works. The key isn't picking the perfect system, it's implementing one consistently. Here's what worked for them: 1. Simplified to 3-5 company objectives only 2. Created clear ownership for each key result 3. Instituted bi-weekly check-ins (not quarterly) 4. Built a no-blame environment for missed targets Within 8 weeks, their team alignment scores jumped 42% and they hit their revenue target for the first time in three quarters. The lesson? Your OKR framework only works when your team actually uses it. Sometimes simpler is better. What's your biggest challenge with goal-setting?

I just spent 45 minutes with a CEO who had two separate sets of goals—one commercial, one for product. But in a seed-stage startup, product often is the main driver for commercial success. If you’re chasing product-market fit (PMF), siloed goals can be the fastest path to confusion. Wanna to know what What Happened, read on-> 1/ The Conversation: We dug into the question, “Is revenue the final goal, or is it just a signal that helps us prove readiness for our next phase?” 2/ The Realization: The CEO recognized that revenue is critical for investor confidence (it’s an easy metric to track), but we also needed to measure other signals to validate PMF. 3/ The Convergence: We merged “commercial” and “product” into one objective: “Get to market and validate PMF.” The Key Results? Revenue (board-friendly signal) Utilization (how often customers actually engage) Repeat Orders (proof customers want more) The Outcome A single, unified set of OKRs with an Hypothesis and Signals (shoutout to Raphael Cohen) . No more confusion or competing priorities—just a clear focus on building a product that drives commercial traction. Pro Tip: If you’re in a seed-stage startup, don’t separate product from commercial. Your product is your revenue engine. Question for you: What’s been your biggest challenge merging product and commercial goals?

As a founder, I’ve learned this the hard way Big dreams don’t mean much without clear, actionable goals. That’s why I rely on the SMART goal setting framework A proven method that’s been guiding businesses since George T. Doran introduced it back in 1981. It helps you set goals that are: → Specific: Focus on one clearly defined objective → Measurable: Establish concrete criteria for tracking progress → Assignable: Ensure goals can be owned and executed by your team → Realistic: Set ambitious but attainable targets → Time-related: Create a clear timeline for completion A recent study by the University of California found that individuals who wrote down their goals and dreams on a regular basis were 42% more likely to achieve them. The SMART framework provides a proven template for articulating your goals in a meaningful way. From my perspective, the most crucial aspect of SMART goal-setting is the Specific element. By zeroing in on a single key priority, you create the necessary focus and clarity to channel your efforts productively. Whether you're setting targets for your company, your team or your own professional development, I encourage you to put the SMART framework into practice. I'm confident it will help you cut through the noise, sharpen your focus and accomplish more of what matters most. What's the #1 goal that you want to make SMART today? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments. #leadership #goals #success #productivity #CEO

Micro goals are key to our success at Sundays. They give direction and momentum, with the flexibility that you need at an early stage startup. Here’s how it works: 1️⃣ Set 1 big, long-term goal. This is a goal that lasts 6-12 months. Ours is currently to make enough money from happy paying customers that we can pay ourselves a sustainable amount to keep building Sundays. Everything else ladders up to that. 2️⃣ Set micro-goals that last no longer than a month Each has 1 owner and can have KPIs or smaller goals (~1 week each) that lead up to it. 3️⃣ Prioritize Each person gets 1 of each P1, P2, P3 for the month. P1 is critical *this will get done or else* work. 4️⃣ Update every week Each week we meet to update progress, evaluate if they’re still the right thing to work on, and hopefully MARK THEM DONE. This creates ✨ momentum ✨ And momentum is magic for startups. At the end of the month, we reflect and do it again. — Sundays is an executive assistant service for working parents. We are a bootstrapping our way to making sustainable, long-term change for parents.

🌶️ 𝗛𝗢𝗧 𝗧𝗔𝗞𝗘: OKRs are a terrible goal framework for startups. After 7 years of using them, I'm dropping OKRs—and here's why👇 Context: I implemented OKRs at scale during my time at EVBox (100 to 700 people), with dedicated coaches, tools, and processes. Then, in my fractional work with scaleups, I tried them again. A year ago, I stopped—and results have only improved. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗜'𝗺 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗢𝗞𝗥𝘀: 1️⃣ 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻: Startups thrive on speed. By the time you’ve locked in OKRs, the business has already pivoted. 2️⃣ 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲: Instead of focusing on clear, actionable goals, you end up spending hours on OKRs that most teams forget after week 3. 3️⃣ 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁: The 'why' is missing. OKRs give you high-level goals and metrics but rarely provide the narrative behind why they matter. 4️⃣ 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗵𝘂𝗿𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗲: In the early stages, teams need wins. OKRs often set ambitious targets that end up demoralizing instead of energizing. --- To be clear, OKRs can be powerful when used correctly. I might reconsider them in specific cases—like for larger teams or more mature organizations—but for early-stage startups, they often add unnecessary complexity. In fact, any methodology with an army of coaches behind it—like agile, OKRs, or SAP—means it’s reached a level of complexity that requires careful consideration before adopting. So, before you roll out OKRs at your startup, 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳: 𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗼𝗿 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁𝘆? --- 𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲? You may not need a formal goal framework in the early stages. You can probably handle things with a North Star Metric, a few product and GTM hypotheses, and clear ownership of deliverables. Personally, I’ve shifted to using the NCT framework (Narratives, Commitments, Tasks) for the scaleups and teams I lead. It’s simpler, more actionable, and offers better context and alignment for early-stage startups and scaleups. --- 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲: Are you all-in on OKRs in startups or not? 👇 #OKRs #Startups #Goals #NCTs --- I'm Hugo Pereira. Co-founder of Ritmoo and fractional growth operator, I've led businesses from $1m to $100m+ while building purpose-driven, resilient teams. Follow me to master growth, leadership, and teamwork. My book, 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥, arrives early 2025.