Values-First KPI Pyramid
Protect core values, identify the growth KPI, and fund what moves it
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 96%
Picture resource allocation as a pyramid governed by a non-negotiable layer above it: brand values and company culture. No investment may compromise that layer. Beneath it, identify the core KPI for the current business model. Odell treats revenue as the default for a commercial company because sales can create profitability or support another raise; for an app, users may be the better stage-specific measure. Then direct money toward the activities already shown to move that KPI, rather than distributing seed funding across attractive but unproven projects. Re-measure the outcome and check that growth did not erode the values constraint. The model combines a hard qualitative boundary with a quantitative allocation rule: preserve who the company is, then fund what advances its essential result.
Origin
Asked how to use seed funding, Odell describes brand values and culture hovering above a pyramid, with selling and the business's core KPI determining where money should go beneath it.
Core principles
- 01Brand integrity and culture constrain every growth decision
- 02A business needs one core growth outcome for the current stage
- 03Revenue is the default priority for a commercial business
- 04Investment should follow activities that demonstrably move the core KPI
How to run it
- 1
Set the values boundary
Write the brand and culture commitments that no growth investment may violate.
Pro tip Translate each value into one observable spending constraint.
Watch out Vague values cannot constrain an actual budget decision.
- 2
Name the core KPI
Choose the single current outcome that best represents business progress, such as revenue for a commercial product or active users for an early app.
Pro tip Select the KPI for the company's current stage, not its eventual ambition.
Watch out Several equal priorities make allocation arbitrary.
- 3
Trace the KPI drivers
Identify the channels, product changes, and operating activities that have evidence of moving the chosen KPI.
Pro tip Rank drivers by observed effect rather than enthusiasm.
Watch out Correlation from one event may not be a repeatable driver.
- 4
Invest behind evidence
Allocate the available money to the strongest drivers while keeping the values boundary intact.
Pro tip Reserve enough runway to measure the result before committing the remainder.
Watch out Do not fund a fashionable initiative merely because competitors use it.
- 5
Review both levels
Measure movement in the KPI and audit whether the investment changed behavior in ways that compromise brand or culture.
Pro tip A failed KPI test should change the next allocation.
Watch out Growth that violates the top layer is not a successful result.
In the wild
Odell says a business should prioritize increasing revenue because selling can produce profitability or make another raise possible. Spending should therefore reinforce the things making money, while brand values and culture remain protected above the decision.
→ Seed capital is tied to commercial progress without making integrity negotiable.
An early app chooses activated weekly users as its core KPI. It funds the onboarding change that improved activation in a pilot, while refusing a manipulative notification tactic that conflicts with its trust commitment.
→ The company advances its stage-specific KPI inside a clear ethical boundary.
Common mistakes
Treating values as decoration
If values cannot stop a profitable tactic, they do not actually sit above the allocation pyramid.
Funding vanity metrics
Attention without a demonstrated link to revenue, users, or the selected core KPI can absorb seed money without advancing the company.
Using the wrong stage KPI
A mature revenue measure may be premature for a product still testing whether users receive its core value.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for founders deciding where to reinvest limited money after an initial raise or sales period.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal when the company lacks enough evidence to know which activities influence its core KPI.
From the transcript
“really the number one priority for you or for any businessperson is to increase revenue”
“what's like hovering above the pyramid is like brand values and cultures like you never went compromise your integrity and who you are as brand…”
“identifying the core kpi's of the business and investing in this”
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