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: 45

Output:

## 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

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ AARRR MONTHLY DASHBOARD January 2026 │ ├────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ │ │ ACQUISITION ACTIVATION RETENTION │ │ Visitors: 50K Activated: 900 D30: 45% │ │ Signups: 3K Rate: 30% ⚠️ Churn: 5% │ │ CAC: $45 Time: 3.2d DAU/MAU: 28% │ │ │ │ REVENUE REFERRAL OVERALL │ │ Customers: 150 Referrals: 45 MRR: $12.2K │ │ Conv: 17% Rate: 30% LTV:CAC: 24:1 │ │ ARPU: $89 NPS: +32 Health: 🟢 │ │ │ │ BOTTLENECK: Activation (30% vs 45% target) │ │ EXPERIMENT: Skip team invite onboarding │ │ │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Example 2: Quick Bottleneck Diagnosis