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tability.ioWhat are Startup Growth OKRs?
The Objective and Key Results (OKR) framework is a simple goal-setting methodology that was introduced at Intel by Andy Grove in the 70s. It became popular after John Doerr introduced it to Google in the 90s, and it's now used by teams of all sizes to set and track ambitious goals at scale.
Crafting effective OKRs can be challenging, particularly for beginners. Emphasizing outcomes rather than projects should be the core of your planning.
We have a collection of OKRs examples for Startup Growth to give you some inspiration. You can use any of the templates below as a starting point for your OKRs.
If you want to learn more about the framework, you can read our OKR guide online.
Startup Growth OKRs examples
We've added many examples of Startup Growth Objectives and Key Results, but we did not stop there. Understanding the difference between OKRs and projects is important, so we also added examples of strategic initiatives that relate to the OKRs.
Hope you'll find this helpful!
OKRs to successfully launch startup
ObjectiveSuccessfully launch startup
KRSecure initial funding of at least $50K
Set up pitches with interested investors- Develop a detailed business plan highlighting investment value
- Identify potential investors in the chosen industry
- KRAchieve steady user growth rate of 20% month on month
- Identify and target a specific user demographic via social media campaigns
- Implement a customer referral program with incentives
- Optimize SEO strategies for increased organic user traffic
- KROnboard first 100 users
- Provide personalized support for early users
- Launch marketing campaign to attract initial users
- Develop a comprehensive, user-friendly onboarding guide
OKRs to get a solid growth engine
- ObjectiveCreate a solid growth engine
- KRIncrease weekly leads by 30%
- KRWe're getting 0.1 leads/active customer/week
- KR30% of new leads start a trial
OKRs to launch a high growth and profitable tech startup
- ObjectiveLaunch a high growth and profitable tech startup
- KRDevelop a minimum viable product, tested and approved by a focus group of 25 participants
- Create and test the product with focus group
- Implement changes based on feedback
- Identify key features for the minimum viable product
- KRSecure funding worth at least $1M from reliable investors
- Schedule and conduct persuasive pitch meetings with investors
- Develop a compelling business proposal showcasing ROI
- Research and create a list of potential reliable investors
- KRAssemble a cohesive team of 5 skilled professionals for key operations
- Identify required skills for key operations team roles
- Source potential candidates through networking or recruiting
- Conduct interviews and select final team members
OKRs to scale the startup to achieve unicorn status
- ObjectiveScale the startup to achieve unicorn status
- KRExpand customer base by acquiring 100 new clients
- Identify target market segments and prioritize based on potential revenue and fit
- Develop targeted marketing campaigns to attract potential clients from identified segments
- Establish strategic partnerships with complementary businesses to leverage their customer base
- Implement referral program to encourage existing clients to refer friends and colleagues
- KRsecure $10 million in funding from investors
- Identify and approach potential investors with a tailored and persuasive investment proposal
- Develop and demonstrate a solid growth strategy and execution plan to convince investors
- Create a compelling pitch deck highlighting the market potential, competitive advantage, and financial projections
- Conduct thorough due diligence to ensure investors' trust by providing accurate financial information and projections
- KRIncrease monthly revenue by 30%
- KRAchieve a user retention rate of 80%
- Implement personalized notifications and incentives to encourage users to stay active
- Improve user onboarding process to enhance engagement and reduce churn
- Continuously analyze user behavior data to optimize the app experience and prevent attrition
- Conduct regular user surveys to identify pain points and address them promptly
OKRs to encourage user referrals
- ObjectiveAccelerate momentum with user referrals
- KRIncrease weekly in-app referrals from 1.5 to 2.5/week
- Add referral link in footer of weekly customer comms
- Improve visibility of referral actions
- KRPublish 5 case studies from top customers
- Identify top 10 customers for case studies
- Secure 5 interviews
- KRSecure 20 new G2 reviews score 4+ stars
- Contact 40 users scoring us NPS 9+ and ask for a review
OKRs to help customers expand usage faster
- ObjectiveHelp customers expand faster
- KR25% of new customers expand to 5+ users in their first week.
- Include step to invite team in the onboarding process
- Add domain sharing marketing email to the drip feed
- KR60% of customers have turned on the team domain sharing
- Publish post explaining the benefits of using the platform with a team
- Run special marketing campaign to increase activation
OKRs to develop a new in-product referrals program
- ObjectiveDevelop a new in-product referrals program
- KRImprove onboarding of referred users to keep conversion above 40%
- KRGet 3 referrals per customers on average across all accounts
- Identify opportunities for network effects
- KRGet 60% of new customer accounts to refer at least one other customer
- Add referral step in the onboarding drip feed
- Create incentive to reward customers for referring users
How to write your own Startup Growth OKRs
1. Get tailored OKRs with an AI
You'll find some examples below, but it's likely that you have very specific needs that won't be covered.
You can use Tability's AI generator to create tailored OKRs based on your specific context. Tability can turn your objective description into a fully editable OKR template -- including tips to help you refine your goals.
- 1. Go to Tability's plan editor
- 2. Click on the "Generate goals using AI" button
- 3. Use natural language to describe your goals
Tability will then use your prompt to generate a fully editable OKR template.
Watch the video below to see it in action 👇
Option 2. Optimise existing OKRs with Tability Feedback tool
If you already have existing goals, and you want to improve them. You can use Tability's AI feedback to help you.
- 1. Go to Tability's plan editor
- 2. Add your existing OKRs (you can import them from a spreadsheet)
- 3. Click on "Generate analysis"
Tability's Strategy Map makes it easy to see all your org's OKRsTability will scan your OKRs and offer different suggestions to improve them. This can range from a small rewrite of a statement to make it clearer to a complete rewrite of the entire OKR.
You can then decide to accept the suggestions or dismiss them if you don't agree.
Option 3. Use the free OKR generator
If you're just looking for some quick inspiration, you can also use our free OKR generator to get a template.
Unlike with Tability, you won't be able to iterate on the templates, but this is still a great way to get started.
Startup Growth OKR best practices
Generally speaking, your objectives should be ambitious yet achievable, and your key results should be measurable and time-bound (using the SMART framework can be helpful). It is also recommended to list strategic initiatives under your key results, as it'll help you avoid the common mistake of listing projects in your KRs.
Here are a couple of best practices extracted from our OKR implementation guide 👇
Tip #1: Limit the number of key results
The #1 role of OKRs is to help you and your team focus on what really matters. Business-as-usual activities will still be happening, but you do not need to track your entire roadmap in the OKRs.
We recommend having 3-4 objectives, and 3-4 key results per objective. A platform like Tability can run audits on your data to help you identify the plans that have too many goals.
Tip #2: Commit to weekly OKR check-ins
Don't fall into the set-and-forget trap. It is important to adopt a weekly check-in process to get the full value of your OKRs and make your strategy agile – otherwise this is nothing more than a reporting exercise.
Being able to see trends for your key results will also keep yourself honest.
Tip #3: No more than 2 yellow statuses in a row
Yes, this is another tip for goal-tracking instead of goal-setting (but you'll get plenty of OKR examples above). But, once you have your goals defined, it will be your ability to keep the right sense of urgency that will make the difference.
As a rule of thumb, it's best to avoid having more than 2 yellow/at risk statuses in a row.
Make a call on the 3rd update. You should be either back on track, or off track. This sounds harsh but it's the best way to signal risks early enough to fix things.
How to track your Startup Growth OKRs
OKRs without regular progress updates are just KPIs. You'll need to update progress on your OKRs every week to get the full benefits from the framework. Reviewing progress periodically has several advantages:
- It brings the goals back to the top of the mind
- It will highlight poorly set OKRs
- It will surface execution risks
- It improves transparency and accountability
We recommend using a spreadsheet for your first OKRs cycle. You'll need to get familiar with the scoring and tracking first. Then, you can scale your OKRs process by using a proper OKR-tracking tool for it.
If you're not yet set on a tool, you can check out the 5 best OKR tracking templates guide to find the best way to monitor progress during the quarter.
More Startup Growth OKR templates
We have more templates to help you draft your team goals and OKRs.
- OKRs to enhance talent retention strategies
- OKRs to enhance digital and community engagement for three marketing personas
- OKRs to minimize unavoidable equipment downtime next quarter
- OKRs to successfully implement innovative solutions similar to Proxmox XNG
- OKRs to foster user-centric culture through stakeholder engagement
- OKRs to achieve academic success and maintain sports eligibility