Analytics for a startup pre-Product market fit are uniquely different.

It’s really important not to over measure at this stage. First, most data won’t be statistically significant. Second, it can create a data driven culture too early. This is the same as optimizing growth practices too early.

So what are the user behavioural patterns that are most important for a startup pre-Product market fit? Here’s a few areas to focus on:

• Understanding the core engagement loop - how an individual behaves in the product. This includes time spent, frequency, and other core events. Once you know this loop, “growth” is about getting users to this core loop more frequently.
• What happens in the first few seconds / minutes - this is related to the above. Knowing what users are trying to do becomes apparent in this early period. Dig into it with qualitative methods (interviews) to understand user motivations.
• What drives Organic behaviour - What are the organic acquisition channels that are bringing users to your product. This will inform where to fuel the fire through paid approaches.

These are only a few, but the fewer the better in this stage. It’s important to have data available to answer questions, but not too much that you’re drowning in useless information.