What is a north star metric?

Written by Madalena Rugeroni, founder of Mazo · Updated 15 September 2026

A north star metric is the single metric that best captures the core value a product delivers to its customers, chosen so that when it grows, long-term revenue follows. It aligns a team around customer value rather than activity. Revenue itself is usually not the north star: it is the result of value delivered.

Where the term comes from

The idea was popularised in growth circles by Sean Ellis, who described it as the single metric that best captures the core value your product delivers to customers,¹ and later by Amplitude's North Star work, which frames it as the link between the customer problems a product solves and the revenue the company aims to generate.²

What makes a good north star

It counts value received, not effort. Logins and emails sent are activity; invoices paid through the product is value.
It's a repeatable event. Elena Verna's point about activation applies here: habitual value, not a one-time setup step.
It leads revenue. When it rises, retention and expansion should follow within a few months.
The team can move it. Product, marketing and sales each have a lever on it.

Worked example

A fictional invoicing tool for agencies considers three candidates:

Monthly active users: rises when people log in to fix a broken invoice. Activity, not value.
MRR: important, but a lagging result; it doesn't tell the team what to improve.
Accounts with at least 5 invoices paid through the tool this week: counts value received, repeats weekly, and predicts which accounts renew. This is the north star.

Say it moves from 120 to 180 accounts in a quarter: the team can trace which onboarding or channel change caused the jump.

Why it matters from €0 to €1M ARR

Pre-revenue: don't choose one yet. Your metrics are interviews with your ICP, repeated pains and willingness-to-pay signals.
Around €10k MRR: a first north star often grows out of your activation milestone — the repeatable value event your retained customers share.
€50k+ MRR: with a team, it becomes a focus tool. Pair it with one company objective per quarter and a few measurable key results.

Mazo's rule of thumb: pick one metric that counts value customers receive, defined as a repeatable event rather than a setup step, and make key results outcomes, never activities. Before your first customers, don't pick one at all — track interviews and willingness-to-pay signals.

Common north star mistakes

Choosing revenue. It's the outcome, not the lever.
Choosing a vanity metric. Signups and page views can grow while customers leave.
Having three. Several north stars is the same as none.
Never checking it against retention. If accounts that hit it still churn, it's the wrong metric.

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FAQ

What is an example of a north star metric for B2B SaaS?

For an invoicing tool, a good north star could be the number of accounts with at least five invoices paid through the product each week. It counts value received, repeats, and predicts renewal.

Can revenue be a north star metric?

Usually not. Revenue is a lagging result of value delivered, so it does not tell a team what to improve. A north star should measure the customer value that leads to revenue.

What is the difference between a north star metric and a KPI?

A company tracks many KPIs, such as CAC, churn and win rate. The north star is the one metric chosen to represent customer value and align everyone's work.

Who wrote this

Madalena Rugeroni built Mazo. She's an ex-Googler, a startup advisor and investor, and runs a portfolio of internet companies. Before that, as Head of Growth at Amplemarket, she scaled a B2B SaaS to $10M ARR. LinkedIn

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Sources.

Definition as the single metric that captures core product value: Sean Ellis, "Growth Needs a North Star Metric" (2017)
North star as the link between customer problems and revenue: Julia Sholtz, Amplitude blog on the product North Star Metric (2024)

Operators and books referenced: Elena Verna (activation), John Doerr (Measure What Matters). These are published methodologies credited to their authors; Mazo is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.