Growth Metrics Framework
This document defines the key performance indicators (KPIs) for measuring Equa’s growth across acquisition, activation, retention, revenue, and referral dimensions (AARRR pirate metrics). Each KPI includes a definition, formula, data source, and target placeholder for operational tracking. This is a measurement framework only — no actual metrics are included. Populate the target and actual columns as data becomes available.Framework Overview
1. Acquisition
How new users and organizations discover and sign up for Equa.| KPI | Definition | Formula | Data Source | Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Sign-ups | Users who complete registration | Count of new Users records per period | equa-server/modules/persistence — Users entity | X/month |
| New Organizations | Organizations created per period | Count of new Organizations records per period | equa-server/modules/persistence — Organizations entity | X/month |
| Landing Page Conversion Rate | Percentage of landing page visitors who sign up | (New sign-ups / Landing page unique visitors) x 100 | Web analytics + Users table | X% |
| AI Onboarding Starts | Users who submit an initial prompt to Equanaut | Count of Equanaut onboarding sessions initiated | equa-web/src/modules/equanaut/ session tracking | X/month |
| Channel Mix | Distribution of sign-ups by source (direct, organic, referral, paid) | Percentage breakdown of sign-up attribution | Web analytics UTM tracking | — |
2. Activation
The “aha moment” when a new user gets first value from the platform.| KPI | Definition | Formula | Data Source | Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI Onboarding Completion Rate | Percentage of Equanaut sessions that result in a fully configured workspace | (Completed setups / Onboarding starts) x 100 | equa-server/modules/agent/ — agent session outcomes | X% |
| Time to First Cap Table | Median time from sign-up to first shareholder added | Median(first_shareholder_created_at - user_created_at) | Users + Shareholdings timestamps | X hours |
| Organizations with Holders | Percentage of organizations that add at least one holder | (Orgs with holders > 0 / Total orgs) x 100 | getHolderCount() from equa-server/modules/billing/src/writing.ts | X% |
| Document Upload Rate | Percentage of organizations that upload at least one document | (Orgs with documents / Total orgs) x 100 | equa-server/modules/data-room/ file records | X% |
| ESOP Plan Creation Rate | Percentage of organizations that create at least one equity incentive plan | (Orgs with plans / Total orgs) x 100 | Plans entity in equa-server/modules/persistence/ | X% |
3. Retention
Whether users continue to use the platform over time.| KPI | Definition | Formula | Data Source | Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Active Organizations | Organizations with at least one login or API call per month | Count of distinct organizations with activity per month | equa-server/modules/activity/ activity records | X/month |
| Cap Table Update Frequency | Average cap table modifications per active organization per month | Total cap table events / Active organizations | Activity records filtered by cap table events | X/org/month |
| 30-Day Retention Rate | Percentage of organizations active in month N that are still active in month N+1 | (Active orgs in month N+1 that were active in month N / Active orgs in month N) x 100 | Activity records | X% |
| Feature Breadth Score | Average number of distinct feature modules used per active organization | Count of distinct module categories used per org (equity, docs, finance, etc.) | Activity records by module | X/5 categories |
| Data Room Session Frequency | Average data room views per organization per month | Total data room access events / Organizations with data rooms | equa-server/modules/data-room/ access logs | X/org/month |
4. Revenue
How effectively the platform converts users to paying customers and grows revenue.| KPI | Definition | Formula | Data Source | Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) | Total recurring revenue normalized to a monthly figure | Sum of (annual subscription amounts / 12) for all active subscriptions | Chargify subscription data via equa-server/modules/billing/ | $X/month |
| Average Revenue Per Organization (ARPO) | Average monthly revenue per paying organization | MRR / Count of organizations with active subscriptions | Chargify + Organizations table | $X/org/month |
| Holder Expansion Rate | Rate at which paying organizations add new holders (expanding their subscription) | (New holders added to paying orgs per month / Total holders in paying orgs) x 100 | updateSubscriptionMemberCount() in equa-server/modules/billing/src/writing.ts (lines 275-294) | X%/month |
| Free-to-Paid Conversion Rate | Percentage of START organizations that upgrade to GROWTH | (START orgs that purchased GROWTH in period / Total START orgs at start of period) x 100 | Chargify subscription creation events | X%/month |
| Churn Rate (Revenue) | Percentage of MRR lost to cancellations per month | (MRR lost to cancellations in month / MRR at start of month) x 100 | Chargify cancellation events via cancelOrganizationSubscription() | X%/month |
| Lifetime Value (LTV) | Predicted total revenue from an average paying organization | ARPO / Monthly churn rate | Derived from ARPO and churn | $X |
| LTV:CAC Ratio | Ratio of customer lifetime value to customer acquisition cost | LTV / CAC | LTV calculation + marketing spend tracking | X:1 |
| Equa Cash Redemption Rate | Percentage of earned Equa Cash that is redeemed | (Equa Cash redeemed / Equa Cash earned) x 100 | Referrals.equaCash and Transactions in equa-server/modules/billing/src/writing.ts (lines 195-209) | X% |
5. Referral
How effectively existing users bring new users to the platform.| KPI | Definition | Formula | Data Source | Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Referral Rate | Percentage of active organizations that generate at least one referral | (Orgs with referrals / Active orgs) x 100 | equa-server/modules/referral/ referral records | X% |
| Viral Coefficient | Average number of new users each existing user brings | (Referral invites sent x Invite conversion rate) per user | Referral tracking + sign-up attribution | X |
| Equa Cash Earned per Organization | Average credits earned through referral program | Total Equa Cash distributed / Organizations with referrals | Referrals table equaCash field | $X/org |
| Referral-to-Paid Conversion | Percentage of referred sign-ups that become paying customers | (Referred users who upgrade to GROWTH / Total referred sign-ups) x 100 | Referral attribution + Chargify subscriptions | X% |
Equity-Platform-Specific KPIs
These metrics are unique to equity management platforms and track the core value delivered.| KPI | Definition | Formula | Data Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Holders Managed | Cumulative shareholders/members across all organizations | Sum of getHolderCount() across all orgs | Billing member component |
| Securities Issued | Number of electronic securities created on the platform | Count of Shareholdings records | Persistence layer |
| Agreements Generated | Legal documents generated through doc-gen | Count of generated agreements | equa-server/modules/doc-gen/ |
| Transfers Executed | Share transfers processed through the platform | Count of transfer transactions | Captable module activity |
| Options Exercised | Stock options exercised by holders | Count of exercise events | ESOP module |
| Cap Table Accuracy Score | Self-reported accuracy of cap table data (via periodic survey) | Survey average (1-10 scale) | External survey tool |
| Data Room Documents Stored | Total documents stored across all data rooms | Count of files in data rooms | equa-server/modules/data-room/ |
Dashboard Design Recommendations
Executive Dashboard (Weekly Review)
| Section | Metrics | Visualization |
|---|---|---|
| Funnel Overview | Sign-ups, activation rate, conversion rate, MRR | Horizontal funnel chart |
| Revenue | MRR trend, ARPO, churn rate, LTV | Line chart (12-month trend) |
| Growth | New organizations, holder expansion, referral rate | Bar chart (month-over-month) |
| Platform Health | Active organizations, feature breadth, retention | Gauge charts |
Operational Dashboard (Daily)
| Section | Metrics | Visualization |
|---|---|---|
| Today’s Activity | New sign-ups, onboarding completions, support tickets | Counter cards |
| Billing | New subscriptions, cancellations, Equa Cash redemptions | Table with daily counts |
| Engagement | Cap table updates, documents uploaded, data room sessions | Activity stream |
Board/Investor Report (Monthly)
| Section | Metrics | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Headline Numbers | MRR, total organizations, total holders, LTV:CAC | Single-number cards with month-over-month delta |
| Cohort Analysis | Retention by sign-up month | Cohort heatmap |
| Unit Economics | ARPO, CAC, LTV, payback period | Summary table |
| Product | Feature adoption rates, AI onboarding success rate | Horizontal bar chart |
Measurement Implementation Notes
Data Sources
| Source | What It Provides | Access Method |
|---|---|---|
| PostgreSQL (equa-server) | User, organization, holder, activity records | Direct database queries or read replicas |
| Chargify | Subscription, billing, payment data | Chargify API via equa-server/modules/billing/ |
| Web Analytics | Traffic, conversion funnels, channel attribution | Google Analytics or equivalent |
| Activity Module | Feature usage, event tracking | equa-server/modules/activity/ |
| Referral Module | Referral chains, Equa Cash balances | equa-server/modules/referral/ |
Recommended Tooling
| Tool Category | Purpose | Options |
|---|---|---|
| BI/Dashboard | Visualization and reporting | Metabase (open-source), Looker, or Retool |
| Data Warehouse | Historical metric storage | PostgreSQL read replica or BigQuery |
| Alerting | Threshold-based notifications | Grafana alerts or custom webhooks |
| Cohort Analysis | Retention and LTV modeling | Amplitude, Mixpanel, or custom SQL |
Implementation Priority
- Phase 1: Revenue metrics (MRR, ARPO, churn) — available immediately from Chargify data
- Phase 2: Acquisition and activation metrics — requires activity tracking instrumentation
- Phase 3: Retention cohort analysis — requires 3+ months of activity data
- Phase 4: Referral and viral metrics — requires referral attribution tracking
- Phase 5: Board-ready dashboards with automated reporting