funnel framework
AARRR Pirate Metrics: The Startup Growth Funnel
AARRR, or Pirate Metrics, is a metric-first growth funnel built for startups: Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Referral, and Revenue. Each letter is a number to instrument and improve, which makes it less a marketing model than a measurement framework for the whole business.
By The Marketinque TeamReviewed June 2026
Where it comes from
Created by Dave McClure of 500 Startups in 2007, AARRR became the default growth model for product-led and startup teams, pronounced like a pirate, hence the nickname.
The stages
- Acquisition. Users arrive from a channel.
- Activation. They reach a first good experience.
- Retention. They come back.
- Referral. They bring others.
- Revenue. They pay.
When to use it
Reach for AARRR in product-led and startup contexts where the same team owns acquisition through monetization and the product itself is the funnel. Its strength is forcing a single metric onto each stage.
How it maps to the marketinque funnel
AARRR weights the post-sale half the way our lifecycle silo does: activation is the onboard stage, retention is retain, and referral is advocate. It folds positioning and nurture into acquisition, which suits self-serve motions more than committee-driven B2B sales.
Related frameworks
Sources
- Dave McClure, Startup Metrics for Pirates (AARRR) (500 Startups, 2007)
Compiled by The Marketinque Team to our editorial standards.
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