Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 20, 2020

Every entrepreneur thinks he can relax a bit after his business model is proven, funding is in place, and revenues are scaling as projected up that hockey-stick curve. Dave Power growth slowdown hockey stick s-curveUnfortunately, the market is changing so fast these days that any upward climb can level off quickly, as the core business growth begins to stall. This S-Curve, with no correction, can quickly lead to disaster. I’m not talking here about a small pivot.

Hockey Stick 182

Hockey Stick Guerilla Acquisition Revenue 182

Small Business Force

SEPTEMBER 7, 2013

Virtually, every business plan that's ever been presented to the investor community, invariably, has that fabled "hockey stick growth" period where suddenly revenue jumps exponentially. So, while "hockey stick growth" might be something you're chasing, it may not be something you can manage. Hockey stick growth" is like going viral � good luck with that! Hockey stick growth" can happen�but so too can lightning strike in your driveway.

Hockey Stick 34

Hockey Stick Bandwidth Viral Venture Capital 34

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2020

Your goal is that magical breakeven point and hockey-stick profit-growth curve. Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Investors check your burn rate to assess your efficiency, and project your remaining runway before you run out of money and into a brick wall.

Burn Rate 246

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Salary Equity 246

The Next Web

JANUARY 16, 2017

We asked these companies to tell us the data backed story on how key decisions were made, which growth hacks led to the much loved hockey stick curve, and how this impacted their company. In the lead-up to Tech5 2017 – the annual competition organized by TNW and Adyen which celebrates Europe’s fastest-growing tech companies in The Netherlands, UK, Germany, Spain, France and Sweden– we’re launching a series of remarkable stories of businesses that experienced extreme growth.

Hockey Stick 127

Hockey Stick Netherlands Spain Sweden 127

The Next Web

FEBRUARY 20, 2017

We asked these companies to tell us the data backed story on how key decisions were made, which growth hacks led to the much loved hockey stick curve, and how this impacted their company. In the lead-up to Tech5 2017 – the annual competition organized by TNW and Adyen which celebrates Europe’s fastest-growing tech companies in the Netherlands, UK, Germany, Spain, France and Sweden – we’re launching a series of remarkable stories of businesses that experienced extreme growth.

Hockey Stick 119

Hockey Stick Netherlands Spain Sweden 119

Up and Running

FEBRUARY 12, 2018

Why do entrepreneurs sometimes resort to the “hockey stick forecast,” especially when they pitch to investors? I first heard the term in the 1980s, at lunch with a venture capitalist friend, when he said he was “tired of all those hockey stick forecasts” he was getting from startups. The turn upward is like the bend in the hockey stick. But hockey stick projections are also always suspect.

Forecast 128

Forecast Hockey Stick Angel Investor Sales 128

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 19, 2020

Organic growth (reinvesting profits only) will not allow you to build the “hockey stick” growth curve desired by premium buyers at exit, or financial analysts positioning you for public stock sale. Investors will tell you that they love to put money into startups that are scalable, and ready to become the next unicorn. But what does that really mean? Simply stated, it means that your business has the potential to multiply revenue with minimal incremental cost.

Hockey Stick 257

Hockey Stick Startup Intellectual Property Stock 257

Where to Play

JULY 18, 2019

Hockey sticks. Initial indications showed that hockey sticks production and Prosthetics might be considered as “Gold mine” opportunities, while Drones and Bridges were defined as “Moon shots”. Based on this evaluation, the group recommended the startup to focus on hockey stick manufacturers and try to learn more about this market opportunity. The post CompPair- Finding the way from the Lab to the Market appeared first on Where to Play.

Hockey Stick 60

Hockey Stick Switzerland Marketing Cost 60

The Next Web

NOVEMBER 28, 2016

We asked these companies to tell us the data backed story on how key decisions were made, which growth hacks led to the much loved hockey stick curve, and how this impacted their company. In the lead-up to Tech5 2017 – the annual competition organized by TNW and Adyen which celebrates Europe’s fastest-growing tech companies – we’re launching a series of remarkable stories of businesses that experienced extreme growth.

Hockey Stick 107

Hockey Stick Europe Mobile Web 107

The Next Web

FEBRUARY 20, 2017

We asked these companies to tell us the data backed story on how key decisions were made, which growth hacks led to the much loved hockey stick curve, and how this impacted their company. In the lead-up to Tech5 2017 – the annual competition organized by TNW and Adyen which celebrates Europe’s fastest-growing tech companies in the Netherlands, UK, Germany, Spain, France and Sweden – we’re launching a series of remarkable stories of businesses that experienced extreme growth.

Hockey Stick 95

Hockey Stick Netherlands Spain Sweden 95

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 26, 2013

Traction is evidence that your product or service has started that “hockey- stick” adoption rate which implies a large market, a valid business model, and sustainable growth. A graph that shows a hockey-stick “up and to the right” curve with at least three data points per key indicator is a great visual assist.

Hockey Stick 231

Hockey Stick Early Stage Metrics Acquisition 231

YoungUpstarts

SEPTEMBER 23, 2019

In the accounting business, your revenue chart basically looks like a hockey stick,” says Ernie Mayhorn, owner of Capital Tax Solutions in Carson City, Nev., To even out the “hockey stick” revenue cycles, Ernie finds money-making opportunities for slow periods. by Aditya Narula, head of customer success at Kabbage. Just about every business has times when orders are coming in the door fast and furious, and other times when work slows to a crawl.

Small Business 109

Small Business Hockey Stick Denver Private Equity 109

The Next Web

APRIL 22, 2016

With the advent and proliferation of “growth hacking”, many products are launching with hopes of leveraging data, A/B tests, and viral loops to manufacture a hockey stick growth curve. It’s easy to think you can growth hack your way into an overnight success, but in practice it rarely works out that way. Instead, it looks more like this in the early days/months/years: Startups take off because the founders make them take off.

Hockey Stick 84

Hockey Stick Viral Engineer Web 84

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 10, 2019

If you take investor money, expect a push for hockey-stick growth and a liquidity event, like going public (IPO) or sale (M&A), to get the payback. Most entrepreneurs struggle with many startup founders quandaries in building their business, and these key dilemmas are probably the biggest source of pain and failure for the entrepreneur lifestyle. People may jump into the lifestyle to be their own boss, achieve great wealth, start a new trend, or all the above.

Hockey Stick 188

Hockey Stick Vesting Liquidity Event Startup 188

Up and Running

APRIL 24, 2014

So if your numbers are here, going up in a hockey stick—and let’s just say this is your hockey stick—and your marketing expenses go up, and how do I do? So for me, what makes a sales forecast credible? It starts with product market fit. I want to understand the story of the need, and not necessarily big numbers, but who needs this and why. That’s the beginning. Is this really believable? That’s important. Beyond that, how the numbers grow.

Forecast 113

Forecast Sales Hockey Stick Revenue 113

Software By Rob

DECEMBER 2, 2014

There is no champagne-popping, no hockey stick growth, and no overnight success. I’ve just released a 2-hour audio documentary chronicling the story of building and launching my latest startup, Drip. Launch. A Startup Documentary was compiled and edited from 9 months of Skype calls between myself and my software developer, with an epilogue recorded 1-year later (about 2 weeks ago).

Audio 49

Audio Hockey Stick Green Database 49

The Equity Kicker

SEPTEMBER 8, 2015

AirBnB has delivered on the proverbial hockey stick growth that I imagine they had in their pitch deck back in 2010. The chart above shows the number of guests AirBnB has hosted each summer for the last five years. It was on Techcrunch this morning. It’s an amazing chart. They’ve lived the dream. We can draw lessons for this for new startups. In particular for founders who plan to emulate the success of AirBnB.

Hockey Stick 130

Hockey Stick Forecast Valuation Hosting 130

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 1, 2015

Every entrepreneur thinks he can relax a bit after his business model is proven, funding is in place, and revenues are scaling as projected up that hockey-stick curve. Unfortunately, the market is changing so fast these days that any upward climb can level off quickly, as the core business growth begins to stall. This S-Curve, with no correction, can quickly lead to disaster. I’m not talking here about a small pivot.

Hockey Stick 251

Hockey Stick Guerilla Startup Acquisition 251

David Cohen

JULY 29, 2015

The hockey stick doesn’t emerge quite like you thought it would. There is four times as much seed capital in the venture market this year as there was 1 year ago. Because of this, it’s easier to attract seed funding than it has been in the past. I’ve noticed a disturbing new trend and I think it’s related. Startups are “quitting” when the first year doesn’t go as planned.

Hockey Stick 79

Hockey Stick Seed Capital Founder Venture Capital 79

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 14, 2016

Your goal is that magical breakeven point and hockey-stick profit-growth curve. Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Investors check your burn rate to assess your efficiency, and project your remaining runway before you run out of money and into a brick wall. Don’t wait until you are almost out of cash before managing every dollar spent, or looking for the next refueling from investors. Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young.

Burn Rate 217

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Startup Salary 217

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 29, 2018

Your goal is that magical breakeven point and hockey-stick profit-growth curve. Cash flow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Investors check your burn rate to assess your efficiency, and project your remaining runway before you run out of money and into a brick wall. Don’t wait until you are almost out of cash before managing every dollar spent, or looking for the next refueling from investors. Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young.

Burn Rate 156

Burn Rate Hockey Stick Salary Startup 156

Up and Running

FEBRUARY 13, 2017

When I asked the standard “How are you,” he answered: “If I see another hockey stick forecast this week, I’m going to throw something at somebody.”. That was so long ago that I had to ask him to explain the hockey stick metaphor. True story: I sat down for lunch with a friend, a Sand Hill Drive venture capitalist.

Forecast 131

Forecast Hockey Stick Startup Business Plan 131

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 11, 2015

Organic growth (reinvesting profits only) will not allow you to build the “hockey stick” growth curve desired by premium buyers at exit, or financial analysts positioning you for public stock sale. Investors will tell you that they love to put money into startups that are scalable, and ready to scale. But what does that really mean? Simply stated, it means that your business has the potential to multiply revenue with minimal incremental cost.

Hockey Stick 234

Hockey Stick Intellectual Property Stock Cost 234

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 14, 2014

If you take investor money, expect a push for hockey-stick growth and a liquidity event, like going public (IPO) or sale (M&A), to get the payback. Most entrepreneurs struggle with many startup Founders dilemmas in building their business, and these key dilemmas are probably the biggest source of pain and failure for the entrepreneur lifestyle. People may jump into the lifestyle to be their own boss, achieve great wealth, start a new trend, or all the above.

Entrepreneur 230

Entrepreneur Hockey Stick Vesting Liquidity Event 230

Startup Professionals Musings

MARCH 3, 2018

Every entrepreneur thinks he can relax a bit after his business model is proven, funding is in place, and revenues are scaling as projected up that hockey-stick curve. Unfortunately, the market is changing so fast these days that any upward climb can level off quickly, as the core business growth begins to stall. This S-Curve, with no correction, can quickly lead to disaster. I’m not talking here about a small pivot.

Hockey Stick 140

Hockey Stick Guerilla Acquisition Revenue 140

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 5, 2014

Your goal is that magical break even point and hockey-stick profit-growth curve. Cashflow is a basic survival metric for every startup. Investors check your burn rate to assess your efficiency, and project your remaining runway before you run out of money and into a brick wall. Don’t wait until you are almost out of cash before managing every dollar spent, or looking for the next refueling from investors. Desperate entrepreneurs lose their leverage and die young.

Burn Rate 225

Burn Rate Entrepreneur Hockey Stick Salary 225

The Equity Kicker

MAY 3, 2016

As you can see from the chart below Amazon has delivered on the proverbial hockey stick that startups put in their business plans, and they’ve done it at serious scale. Amazon just posted strong Q1 results and investors sent their share price up 11%. If you’ve been reading this blog for some time you will know I’m a huge admirer of the way Jeff Bezos has built his business.

Hockey Stick 65

Hockey Stick Revenue Stock Employee 65

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2017

If you take investor money, expect a push for hockey-stick growth and a liquidity event, like going public (IPO) or sale (M&A), to get the payback. Most entrepreneurs struggle with many startup founders dilemmas in building their business, and these key dilemmas are probably the biggest source of pain and failure for the entrepreneur lifestyle. People may jump into the lifestyle to be their own boss, achieve great wealth, start a new trend, or all the above.

Entrepreneur 149

Entrepreneur Hockey Stick Vesting Liquidity Event 149

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 26, 2014

Every entrepreneur thinks he can relax a bit after his business model is proven, funding is in place, and revenues are scaling as projected up that hockey-stick curve. Unfortunately, the market is changing so fast these days that any upward climb can level off quickly, as the core business growth begins to stall. This S-Curve, with no correction, can quickly lead to disaster. I’m not talking here about a small pivot.

Hockey Stick 218

Hockey Stick Guerilla Acquisition Revenue 218

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

Organic growth (reinvesting profits only) will not allow you to build the “hockey stick” growth curve desired by premium buyers at exit, or financial analysts positioning you for public stock sale. Investors will tell you that they love to put money into startups that are scalable, and ready to scale. But what does that really mean? Simply stated, it means that your business has the potential to multiply revenue with minimal incremental cost.

Hockey Stick 181

Hockey Stick Intellectual Property Stock Cost 181

Ben's Blog

JULY 20, 2011

When I ran Opsware, we had the non-linear quarter problem also known affectionately as the hockey stick. The hockey stick refers to the shape of the revenue graph over the course of a quarter. Our hockey stick was so bad that one quarter, we booked 90% of our new bookings on the last day of the quarter. Naturally, I was determined to straighten out the hockey stick and bring some sanity to the business.

Management 61

Management Employee Hockey Stick Metrics 61

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2013

Organic growth (reinvesting profits only) will not allow you to build the “hockey stick” growth curve desired by premium buyers at exit, or financial analysts positioning you for public stock sale. Investors will tell you that they love to put money into startups that are scalable, and ready to scale. But what does that really mean? Simply stated, it means that your business has the potential to multiply revenue with minimal incremental cost.

Hockey Stick 241

Hockey Stick Startup Intellectual Property Stock 241

ReadWriteStart

JULY 9, 2020

Products and services will be considered as related by the authorities if they are: Used together – hockey sticks and ice skates; Sold together – underwear and socks; Made with similar materials or ingredients – butter and cheese. Trademark rights in UAE are based on the trademark’s use. Prior to using a mark in identifying a specific product or service, there’s a need to perform a clearance search.

Search 96

Search UAE Hockey Stick Database 96

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 6, 2016

Investors have spread the word that you can’t get “hockey-stick” growth without a large cash infusion. If you really want to start a business your way without a boss or professional investor hovering over you, then just fund it yourself or through friends and family, and grow it organically. It’s more possible to bootstrap today than a few years ago, as the cost of entry continues to go down.

Bootstrapping 166

Bootstrapping Hockey Stick Sweat Equity Intellectual Property 166

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 27, 2015

All investors want to see real evidence that the dogs will eat the dogfood before they give any credibility to your hockey-stick projection curves. Big-bang hard launches make sense for large enterprises like Apple or Microsoft, who are building on existing revenue streams and have the resources for lavish events, Superbowl ads and large inventory buildups.

Hockey Stick 174

Hockey Stick Stealth Agile Startup 174

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 8, 2014

Present a “hockey-stick” financial growth model without sharing your numbers behind your numbers (a.k.a. If I had a nickel for every pitch I saw where the financial projections grow in the shape of a hockey stick, I could have funded my last startup! Are you pitching “hockey-stick” financial growth?

Hockey Stick 129

Hockey Stick Due Diligence Seattle IP 129

Software By Rob

DECEMBER 2, 2014

There is no champagne-popping, no hockey stick growth, and no overnight success. I’ve just released a 2-hour audio documentary chronicling the story of building and launching my latest startup, Drip. Launch. A Startup Documentary was compiled and edited from 9 months of Skype calls between myself and my software developer, with an epilogue recorded 1-year later (about 2 weeks ago).

Audio 27

Audio Hockey Stick Green Database 27

Gust

NOVEMBER 15, 2012

And there are others that people think are teeny little wannabes with a dozen or so employees…that have $25 million in highly profitable revenues with hockey stick growth and zero debt! Parts of the answer are that (a) there are enormous regulatory requirements relating to secondary markets, and (b) there are no analysts tracking private company stocks.

Seed Stage 98

Seed Stage Equity Hockey Stick Cap Table 98

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 19, 2013

If you take investor money, expect a push for hockey-stick growth and a liquidity event, like going public (IPO) or sale (M&A), to get the payback. Most entrepreneurs struggle with many startup Founders dilemmas in building their business, and these key dilemmas are probably the biggest source of pain and failure for the entrepreneur lifestyle. People may jump into the lifestyle to be their own boss, achieve great wealth, start a new trend, or all the above.

Founder 190

Founder Hockey Stick Vesting Liquidity Event 190

ReadWriteStart

NOVEMBER 11, 2010

The "Hockey Stick" is a Great Story, Don't Get Me Wrong. The "hockey stick" is a pretty familiar visualization for startups. You have to be able to tell a good story. I mean that as a general rule. i'm a folklorist after all, right?). But when you're an entrepreneur, it's particularly important that you can craft a story to share with others, one that really encapsulates what you do and why you do it.

Hockey Stick 118

Hockey Stick Startup Audience Conversion 118

Up and Running

APRIL 19, 2017

Here, you’ll learn what not to do when forecasting sales, and how to build a forecast on realistic sales projections—rather than the dreaded “hockey stick” forecast. When it comes to starting and managing a business, forecasting your sales is essential. Having a sales forecast can help you budget and manage your business’s funds, create a plan for expansion, and avoid unpleasant surprises.

Forecast 105

Forecast Curation Sales Hockey Stick 105

Up and Running

SEPTEMBER 6, 2018

Hockey stick” shaped growth projections. This article is part of our Business Planning Guide —a curated list of our articles that will help you with the planning process! What are the most common mistakes when writing a business plan ? Here is my list of the ones to make sure you avoid. While including the necessary items in a business plan is important, you also want to make sure you don’t commit any of the following common business plan mistakes. Putting it off.

Business Plan 126

Business Plan Hockey Stick Lean Dilution 126

Up and Running

JUNE 26, 2013

If only we would: “Make feature X free” “Stop focussing on revenue, someone else will pay the bills” “Grow $VANITY_METRIC so you can show a hockey stick at demo day and look good” “Cut out that pesky client that generates 80% of your revenue, they’re a distraction on the road to executing $OUR_BIG_VISION” We drank the Kool-Aid and went all-in.

Hockey Stick 100

Hockey Stick Bootstrapping Lean Metrics 100