AARRR Pirate Metrics
Apply Dave McClure's AARRR framework to measure and optimize growth through the five stages: Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Revenue, and Referral.
When to Use This Skill
- Building growth dashboards
- Identifying funnel bottlenecks
- Prioritizing growth experiments
- Reporting to investors
- Diagnosing growth problems
Methodology Foundation
Based on Dave McClure's AARRR framework (500 Startups), providing:
- Stage-specific metrics definition
- Funnel conversion analysis
- Prioritization framework
- Experiment design guidance
What Claude Does vs What You Decide
| Claude Does | You Decide | |-------------|------------| | Defines metrics per stage | Specific definitions for your product | | Identifies bottlenecks | Experiment priorities | | Suggests experiments | Resource allocation | | Creates dashboards | Tool selection | | Benchmarks performance | Acceptable thresholds |
Instructions
Step 1: Define Each Stage
AARRR Stages:
| Stage | Question | Focus | |-------|----------|-------| | Acquisition | How do users find you? | Traffic, channels | | Activation | Do they have a great first experience? | Onboarding, aha moment | | Retention | Do they come back? | Engagement, habit | | Revenue | Do they pay? | Conversion, monetization | | Referral | Do they tell others? | Virality, NPS |
Step 2: Set Stage-Specific Metrics
Metrics Framework:
| Stage | Primary Metric | Supporting Metrics | |-------|----------------|-------------------| | Acquisition | CAC, Unique visitors | Channel mix, CTR, CPM | | Activation | Activation rate | Time to activate, drop-off points | | Retention | D7/D30 retention | DAU/MAU, churn rate | | Revenue | LTV, ARPU | Conversion rate, ACV | | Referral | Viral coefficient | NPS, referral rate |
Step 3: Map Your Funnel
Funnel Template:
Acquisition → Activation → Retention → Revenue → Referral
100% → 30% → 15% → 5% → 1%Calculate conversion rates between each stage.
Step 4: Identify Bottlenecks
Bottleneck Analysis: | Drop-off | Diagnosis | |----------|-----------| | Acquisition → Activation | Poor onboarding or wrong traffic | | Activation → Retention | Not finding core value | | Retention → Revenue | Pricing or value misalignment | | Revenue → Referral | Not delighting paying users |
Step 5: Prioritize Experiments
ICE Framework:
- Impact: How much will it move the metric?
- Confidence: How sure are we?
- Ease: How easy to implement?
Examples
Example 1: Complete AARRR Dashboard
Input:
Build an AARRR dashboard for a B2B SaaS product.
Monthly visitors: 50,000
Signups: 3,000
Activated users: 900
Paying customers: 150
Referrals generating signups: 45Output:
## AARRR Dashboard: B2B SaaS
### Funnel Overview
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ AARRR FUNNEL │ ├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ │ │ ACQUISITION ACTIVATION RETENTION REVENUE REF │ │ 50,000 3,000 900 150 45 │ │ 100% 6% 30% 17% 30% │ │ │ │ ████████████ ████████ ████ ██ █ │ │ │ │ Visitors → Signups → Activated → Paid → Referral │ │ (-94%) (-70%) (-83%) (-70%) │ │ ⚠️ ⚠️ ✅ ⚠️ │ │ │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
---
### Stage-by-Stage Analysis
#### 1. ACQUISITION
**Metrics:**
| Metric | Value | Benchmark | Status |
|--------|-------|-----------|--------|
| Monthly visitors | 50,000 | - | Baseline |
| Visitor → Signup | 6% | 2-5% | ✅ Good |
| CAC | $45 | <$50 | ✅ Good |
| Signups | 3,000 | - | - |
**Channel Breakdown:**
| Channel | Visitors | Signups | Conv % | CAC |
|---------|----------|---------|--------|-----|
| Organic | 20,000 | 1,500 | 7.5% | $0 |
| Paid Search | 15,000 | 900 | 6% | $60 |
| Content | 10,000 | 450 | 4.5% | $20 |
| Social | 5,000 | 150 | 3% | $80 |
**Analysis:** Acquisition is healthy. Organic performing best.
Paid social has high CAC—consider reallocating.
---
#### 2. ACTIVATION ⚠️ BOTTLENECK
**Metrics:**
| Metric | Value | Benchmark | Status |
|--------|-------|-----------|--------|
| Signup → Activated | 30% | 40-60% | ⚠️ Below |
| Time to activate | 3.2 days | <1 day | ⚠️ Slow |
| Activation rate | 900/3,000 | - | - |
**Activation Definition:**
"Activated" = Created first project + invited 1 team member
**Drop-off Analysis:**
| Step | Users | Drop-off |
|------|-------|----------|
| Signup complete | 3,000 | - |
| Email verified | 2,400 | -20% |
| Created project | 1,500 | -38% |
| Invited team | 900 | -40% ⚠️ |
**Primary Bottleneck:** "Invite team member" step losing 40%
**Experiment Ideas:**
| Experiment | Hypothesis | ICE |
|------------|------------|-----|
| Skip team invite in onboarding | Removes friction, activate solo first | 8/8/9 = 8.3 |
| In-app invite prompt (day 2) | Right timing, after value seen | 7/7/8 = 7.3 |
| Email team invite reminder | Low effort, catches drop-offs | 5/6/9 = 6.7 |
---
#### 3. RETENTION
**Metrics:**
| Metric | Value | Benchmark | Status |
|--------|-------|-----------|--------|
| Week 1 retention | 65% | 60%+ | ✅ Good |
| Month 1 retention | 45% | 40%+ | ✅ Good |
| DAU/MAU ratio | 28% | 20%+ | ✅ Good |
| Churn rate | 5%/month | <5% | ✅ OK |
**Retention Curve:**Day 1: 100% ████████████████████ Day 7: 65% █████████████ Day 14: 52% ██████████ Day 30: 45% █████████ Day 60: 38% ████████ Day 90: 32% ██████
**Analysis:** Retention is solid. Users who activate tend to stick.
This confirms activation is the primary bottleneck.
---
#### 4. REVENUE
**Metrics:**
| Metric | Value | Benchmark | Status |
|--------|-------|-----------|--------|
| Activated → Paid | 17% | 5-15% | ✅ Strong |
| Trial → Paid | 17% | 10-25% | ✅ Good |
| ARPU | $89/mo | - | Baseline |
| LTV | $1,068 | - | 12mo × ARPU |
| LTV:CAC | 24:1 | >3:1 | ✅ Excellent |
**Revenue Breakdown:**
| Plan | Customers | % | MRR |
|------|-----------|---|-----|
| Starter ($29) | 60 | 40% | $1,740 |
| Pro ($89) | 75 | 50% | $6,675 |
| Enterprise ($249) | 15 | 10% | $3,735 |
| **Total** | **150** | - | **$12,150** |
**Analysis:** Strong conversion and healthy LTV:CAC.
Not a bottleneck—maintain current approach.
---
#### 5. REFERRAL ⚠️ OPPORTUNITY
**Metrics:**
| Metric | Value | Benchmark | Status |
|--------|-------|-----------|--------|
| Referral rate | 30% | 20%+ | ✅ Good |
| Viral coefficient | 0.45 | >1 = viral | ⚠️ Below |
| NPS | +32 | >30 | ✅ Good |
| Referral signups | 45 | - | - |
**Calculation:**
- 150 paying customers
- 30% refer (45 referrals)
- Each referral generates 1 signup
- Viral coefficient = 45/150 × (6% activation) = 0.018
- Not organic virality, but healthy referral base
**Experiment Ideas:**
| Experiment | Hypothesis | ICE |
|------------|------------|-----|
| Referral incentive (2-way) | Motivation for both parties | 7/8/7 = 7.3 |
| In-app share prompts | Right moment capture | 6/7/8 = 7.0 |
| Case study program | Social proof + referral | 5/6/6 = 5.7 |
---
### Priority Recommendations
| Priority | Focus | Current | Target | Impact |
|----------|-------|---------|--------|--------|
| 1 | Activation | 30% | 45% | +450 activated/mo |
| 2 | Referral | 30% | 50% | +30 referral signups |
| 3 | Paid channel mix | 6% conv | 8% conv | -$10 CAC |
**90-Day Goal:**
If activation improves 30% → 45%:
- +450 more activated users
- At 17% conversion = +76 new customers
- At $89 ARPU = +$6,800 MRR
---
### Dashboard Template
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