retention-cohortslisted

# Retention & Cohort Analysis ## When to Apply - Measuring product-market fit - Deciding whether to invest in growth vs product improvement - When the founder asks "do we have PMF?" - When retention data is available from integrations - Quarterly PMF reassessment ## Core Framework ### Three Definitions (Set During Onboarding) Before any retention measurement, guide the founder to define: 1. **Cohort grouping** — How new users are grouped - Weekly: daily-use products - Monthly: utility products - Quarterly: infrequent-use products (travel, tax) 2. **Active action** — What counts as "active." Must reflect genuine value delivery. - Ask: "Imagine watching a customer use your product. What moment tells you they're genuinely getting value?" - B2B SaaS: "completed a core workflow" - Consumer: "engaged with 3+ pieces of content" - Marketplace: "completed a transaction" 3. **Time granularity** — How often users should ideally use the product. Cross-check against chosen action for consistency. ### Triangle Chart (Cohort Retention Table) ``` Week 0 Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Jan 100% 62% 45% 38% 35% 34% <- flattening Feb 100% 58% 41% 33% 31% ... Mar 100% 65% 50% 42% ... Apr 100% 71% 55% ... <- improving ``` ### Curve Shape Analysis (Most Important Insight) Analyze SHAPE, not absolute numbers: | Curve Shape | PMF Signal | Agent Ac