article thumbnail

“Sanzo is at its best when we serve as a bridge across cultures for both AAPI and non-AAPI.” CEO Sandro Roco on building a beverage startup, what to avoid in influencer deals, & protecting the brand.

Hunter Walker

With my previous experience in DTC , there is/was an underlying assumption that growth resembles a “hockey stick”. HW: What’s something you believed about the beverage business, or consumers, when you started which turned out to be completely wrong. How/when did you realize it? SR: So many to choose from!

article thumbnail

6 Reasons Your Hockey Stick Growth Curve Can Go Flat

Startup Professionals Musings

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.

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Why The Haters are Wrong About Growth Hacking

Both Sides of the Table

“Growth hacking perpetuates this myth that you can magically achieve hockey-stick growth by using short-term “hacks.” “ I have always encouraged teams to think about growth as daily blocking-and-tackling rather than a dark art. I laughed as I did at much of his rant. He even used some terminology near and dear to my heart.

article thumbnail

Customer Development in Japan: a History Lesson

Steve Blank

Maysee now enjoys hockey stick revenue growth. For example, Maysee , a business card cloud services startup, got out of the building and then developed an MVP, avoiding costly UI development that customers in fact found no need for.

Japan 306
article thumbnail

How to Conduct a Trademark Search for a Business Startup

ReadWriteStart

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. To make the most use of a mark, related products and services are also to be identified.

article thumbnail

5 Sure-fire Ways to Bomb Your Investor Pitch

Up and Running

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?

article thumbnail

Two Ways to Hold Entrepreneurs Accountable (for Harvard Business.

Startup Lessons Learned

For a little while, the team can resort to the last defense of entrepreneurs in trouble: the promised hockey-stick. One thing that is often overlooked about the hockey-stick growth shape: its most distinctive characteristic is the long, flat part. Usually, they are delivering only a fraction of the revenue they promised.