Analyst Relations impact is hard to measure in startups?
This 5-step playbook builds analyst advocacy, speeds up growth and delivers proof.
Most startups run AR like a side project.
Wrong focus. No gameplan. Little traction.
Activity without a client... is a hobby.
And hobbies have no place in the race to market breakthrough.
Client-driven AR instead… becomes a weapon.
Here‘s your playbook for AR Measurement as a startup growth engine.
1. Sell
Start with internal clients in product management, business development, marketing, etc.
Identify real problems that AR can help solve - specifically. (Unsure? Ask me.)
Promote these value props internally - like products.
👉 Focus on a short, sharp catalogue.
2. Relevance
No request without context.
Ask your internal client:
🔗 How their request links to strategy, a program, project, or decision.
⏱️ How urgent and how important AR input is for it.
👉 That’s your filter. No context = no priority = no resources.
3. Track
Capture and prioritise.
Log each request with its relevance data in your AR Value Tracker.
This becomes your single source of truth for where AR is delivering value.
👉 Now it’s time for…
4. Outcomes
Work your in- and outbound AR ops to support your client.
To grow analyst confidence and advocacy, you must let them know how their input actually worked for you.
Check back with your internal client:
✅ How did the program, project, etc. do in numbers?
✅ What decisions were influenced, steps taken, ideas inspired?
Log the outcomes in your AR Value Tracker.
👉 Use in your IAR cycle with the analyst. (DM me to learn that, too)
5. Report
Add up and level up.
Your AR Value Tracker has gathered quantitative and qualitative value - at strategic, tactical and operational levels - across the board - literally.
Show your data from the angle that best supports the review format. It amplifies your best people, products, programmes.
👉 Celebrate the teams that get the most from AR - it will drive further demand.
Bonus Value
Use your AR maturity in conversations with strategic partners.
Great AR is proof of management savviness and business value.
👉 It’s a quality signal VCs and M&A love.
You see - Measuring AR impact is no mystery. It's good growth management.
As startup founder Tim Bretman of Pace told me:
“It’s been a booster in so many ways. Our investment in AR has paid off 10x.”
Pace is now the 24th fastest-growing company in Europe (FT1000) in 2025.
Curious what this would look like in your startup?
