How to Set Effective OKRs for Startups: A Practical Guide from a Remote Work Expert

Startup founders often struggle with aligning their teams around meaningful goals. Lavinia Iosub, Managing Partner at Livit International, explains how Objective and Key Results (OKRs) solve this by turning vision into shared, measurable ambition—without turning into a to-do list.

What Are OKRs and Why Do They Matter?

OKRs stand for Objectives and Key Results—a goal-setting framework originally developed at Intel and now used by Google, Spotify, and Airbnb. At its core, OKRs are about creating alignment and engagement around measurable goals.

"There's nothing worse than a company where everybody is working hard, but everybody's going in a different direction."

The framework ensures that every team member understands the company’s priorities and how their work contributes to them. It’s not about tracking tasks—it’s about driving innovation and growth.

How to Structure an OKR: The 'I Will as Measured By' Formula

A strong OKR follows a simple pattern: I will [objective] as measured by [key results].

• Objective (O): A short, inspiring, qualitative statement. It should be memorable, motivating, and reflect team culture.

  • Example: "Delight our customers" (not "Improve customer satisfaction by 20%")
  • A good test: If you have to pause to breathe while reading it, it’s too long.

• Key Results (KR): 2 to 5 specific, measurable outcomes that prove progress toward the objective.

  • Example: "Reduce customer churn from 25% to 15%" or "Increase net promoter score from 40% to 70%"
  • Avoid vague actions like "run more ads"—focus on results like "increase organic traffic from 5,000 to 10,000 visits per month."

OKRs vs. KPIs: One Is a Dashboard, the Other Is a Navigation System

Many founders confuse OKRs with KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). They are not the same:

OKRs	KPIs
Growth-oriented	Performance-oriented
Ambitious, aspirational	Attainable, based on past performance
Qualitative + measurable	Purely quantitative
Motivates innovation	Measures daily output
Used for strategic direction	Used for performance evaluation

"KPIs are like your car’s dashboard—showing fuel, oil, engine status. OKRs are your navigation system—telling you where to go when the dashboard warns you something’s wrong."

KPIs track daily health. OKRs drive change. You can—and should—use both together. For example, if your conversion rate (a KPI) is low, use an OKR to innovate: "Increase conversion rate by 50% in Q2 through new onboarding flows."

The 60–70% Rule: Why 100% Success Is a Warning Sign

A common mistake is aiming for 100% completion. In OKR methodology, that’s a red flag.

"A 100% completion rate usually means you weren’t ambitious enough."

The ideal success rate is 60–70%. This means:

• You set a stretch goal.
• You pushed your team to innovate.
• You learned from what didn’t work.

If you hit 100%, you likely didn’t stretch far enough. If you hit 40%, you may have overestimated your capacity.

How to Cascade OKRs Across Company, Team, and Individual Levels

OKRs work best when they’re not just top-down—they’re also bottom-up. Here’s how:

1. Company-wide OKRs (e.g., "Grow total revenue to $5 million USD")
2. Team OKRs (e.g., "Marketing: Increase lead conversion by 30%")
3. Personal OKRs (e.g., "Sales: Close 15 new enterprise deals")

The process:

• Start with quarterly reflection: Why are we here? What’s our mission?
• Brainstorm team ideas: What do we want to improve or innovate?
• Announce company OKRs to guide direction.
• Hold a one-week drafting phase with cross-team collaboration.
• Store OKRs in a shared system (Google Sheets, 7Geese, Weekdone).

"This isn’t waste of time—it’s a time saver. It prevents 17 pointless projects and confusion about priorities."

How to Measure OKRs in Remote and Pandemic Contexts

Even in distributed teams, OKRs remain effective. Measurement methods include:

• Numeric progress (e.g., "from 50% to 70% completion")
• Percentages (e.g., "80% of users complete onboarding")
• Binary (complete/incomplete)
• Units (e.g., "100 new users signed up")

Tools like 7Geese allow teams to track progress in real time, even across time zones. The key is consistency—not perfection.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Writing OKRs

• ❌ Making OKRs too long or corporate-sounding → Use team slang, humor, or internal jokes to make them relatable.
• ❌ Turning OKRs into daily tasks → OKRs are not your to-do list. If it’s something you do every day, it’s not an OKR.
• ❌ Having too few or too many key results → Stick to 2–5. Fewer than 2 lacks depth; more than 5 becomes unmanageable.
• ❌ Using vague language → Avoid "improve," "increase," or "do better." Instead, say "increase from X to Y" or "reduce by Z%".
• ❌ Confusing OKRs with KPIs → OKRs are about innovation. KPIs are about performance.

How to Start: First OKR Suggestions for Early-Stage Startups

If you’re just beginning, focus on:

• Product development: "Launch MVP with product-market fit by end of quarter."
• Team culture: "Build a psychologically safe team where 90% of members feel comfortable speaking up."
• Customer focus: "Achieve 80% customer satisfaction (NPS) within 90 days."

"The first OKR should be about what you need to build now—not what you want to scale later."

Can OKRs and KPIs Coexist?

Yes—but only if they support each other.

• Don’t create conflicting goals: "Increase sales (KPI) while reducing customer outreach (OKR)."
• Use OKRs to solve problems revealed by KPIs: If your churn rate (KPI) is high, use an OKR to fix it.
• Keep KPIs as your daily health checks. Use OKRs as your innovation engine.

"They should be allies, not rivals. If they’re pulling in different directions, you’ve got a system failure."

Key Takeaways

• OKRs are not to-do lists—they are ambitious, measurable goals that drive alignment.
• Use the 'I will as measured by' formula to structure every OKR.
• Aim for 60–70% completion: it means you’re stretching, not playing safe.
• OKRs and KPIs serve different purposes—use both, but keep them aligned.
• Cascade OKRs from company to team to individual to ensure everyone knows their role.
• Start simple: focus on product, culture, or customer impact in your first quarter.