{"id":45581,"date":"2026-10-04T22:24:31","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T20:24:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/strtgy.design\/articles\/series-3-6-what-is-the-north-star-metric-of-bending-spoons\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T22:08:35","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T20:08:35","slug":"series-3-6-what-is-the-north-star-metric-of-bending-spoons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/strtgy.design\/en\/strtgy-notes-en\/series-3-6-what-is-the-north-star-metric-of-bending-spoons\/","title":{"rendered":"[Series 3\/6] What is the North Star Metric of Bending Spoons?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u00abWe acquire companies with the intention of owning and operating them for the long term.\u00bb<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Luca Ferrari<\/strong> , press release on the agreement for Miro, September 10, 2026<\/a> .<\/p>\n\n

\u25cf\u2191<\/p>\n\n

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If Bending Spoons acquired another company, the group’s revenue could grow even without improving its product performance. If we looked at that number alone, we might mistake the increase in size for an improvement in the organization. <\/p>\n\n

This is one of the things that happens so often: confusing revenue with growth<\/strong> without considering your strategy. As strange as it may sound, it’s one of the biggest problems for every organization, because the strategy works until it doesn’t work anymore,<\/strong> and no one knows why. <\/p>\n\n

So, what number should we look at to understand whether Ferrari and his team are getting better at managing the companies they acquire?<\/p>\n\n

In a multi-product company, we must distinguish between two types of work: one that improves each product for its customers, and one that improves the organization that manages them all. They cannot be separated, and we need numbers that are useful to both. <\/p>\n\n

This is episode 3 of 6 in the series where I reconstruct the Bending Spoons strategy using MAKE PROGRESS\u00ae. In each episode, we fill out a block of the Strategy Focus One-pager (SFO)<\/strong> , the page where we collect the key strategic decisions, so you can apply the same reasoning to your company. <\/p>\n\n

Series Index<\/h2>\n\n
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  1. The operating model<\/a> : what kind of company are we building?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. The Destination<\/a> : How to Connect Values, Vision, and Mission.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Metrics: How to Choose the North Star. \u2190 You are here. <\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. The Growth Machine: What effects make growth repeatable?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. The enablers: what capabilities are needed to execute the strategy.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Priorities: what to focus your work on.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n

    From destination to numbers<\/h2>\n\n
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    In MAKE PROGRESS\u00ae, the North Star Metric<\/strong> is the number you and your team look at to determine whether you’re getting closer to your destination. It reduces uncertainty in decisions and should be updated frequently enough to allow you to take action. <\/p>\n\n

    In a multi-product company like Bending Spoons, we choose it at two levels: for the app teams and for the people who build their organization. A single usage metric can’t capture both jobs. <\/p>\n\n

    To choose each team’s North Star, we need to be clear about our shared goal. You could invest years in growing revenue and discover too late that you’ve built a company different from the one you wanted. For each team, therefore, the North Star is a crucial number; indeed, it’s THE number by which to measure your contribution to the strategy. <\/p>\n\n

    We’ll start with product metrics, with Miro at the center of the recent acquisition deal. Then we’ll move on to the North Star of the organization that manages the portfolio. <\/p>\n\n

    How do you find the North Star Metric (NSM) of a product-driven organization?<\/h2>\n\n

    When a company’s growth depends on its ability to attract, satisfy, and retain users within its product, so long as to recover its acquisition costs and, moreover, to become an acquisition channel itself, we are talking about a product<\/em> -led organization<\/strong> .<\/p>\n\n

    To quickly and accurately find our metric, the simplest way is to ask ourselves what would tell us whether the product is being used and, more importantly, whether its use is increasing over time?<\/strong> How can we measure this in a way that connects to business results, especially financial ones?<\/p>\n\n

    Miro is a wonderful example. Those who use it do so to gather research, decide what to include in a roadmap, design a process, or discuss ideas with colleagues during a workshop. The core of the product is the interactive whiteboard<\/strong> on which these people and agents can work together. <\/p>\n\n

    Here the question arises naturally, before our eyes. We should ask ourselves: <\/p>\n\n

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    How much time do Miro users spend working creatively on the shared whiteboard?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

    I’ll walk you through the reasoning using our framework to connect this answer to its actionability\u2014that is, its ability to influence it by linking it to business results.<\/p>\n\n

    As you read, try to find parallels in your own business, so you can turn this case study into a process of thinking about your strategy.<\/p>\n\n

    We find breadth, depth and frequency<\/h3>\n\n

    \u201cTotal time active on boards during the week\u201d can be a good metric to nominate as a North Star.<\/p>\n\n

    By definition, North Star is not an actionable metric; rather, in terms of turnover, it is a lagging metric, meaning it moves as evidence of work already done and not as evidence of the work itself.<\/em><\/p>\n\n

    To make it truly practical we need to break it down into the three dimensions used in the MAKE PROGRESS\u00ae method:<\/p>\n\n