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. MORE
Those of us who live in Finland will be familiar with the more than exaggerated prices associated with taxis, but on the southern side of the Gulf of Finland thrives another kind of taxi culture, one that is so casual that it has a strong demand for taxi applications. MORE
For example, missing crucial deadlines for finishing the business plan, or drawing hockey stick profit projections can repel potential investors. As a full-time editor and academic mentor at an academic writing service, I have read hundreds of business plans over the years. MORE
Let me guess--you have a chart with a hockey stick on it. If you use any of these words, consider this your start-up slang intervention. Rockstar / • adjective, outstandingly good. As in, "We''re looking for a rockstar developer to join our team." MORE
Kicked off in November 2013, Product Hunt has seen rapid hockey-stick growth. Last year at this time, Product Hunt didn’t exist. Its founder, Ryan Hoover, was the Director of Product at gaming company PlayHaven and an active blogger, attracting a loyal but modest following. He couldn’t have anticipated what was to come. It’s become a known quantity in the media and among influencers. MORE
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! MORE
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. MORE
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. MORE
“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. MORE
Sure, you've got a business plan and it shows the proverbial "hockey stick" of growth. Most of my blog posts are focused on keeping you out of trouble.This one is focused on that "oh, s**t" moment of extraordinary success that, hopefully, some of you will someday have. MORE
Most VCs love that stuff they want to see that hockey-stick growth (For the record, I do not. Dear Founders, I know you are all super busy. So I put the key message I want you to get out of this post right in the title of the post. But I really do want you to read on and try to understand and internalize what I’m trying to say here, as it’s not obvious, and especially not obvious when you’re in that phase of your startup. Startups are hard. We all know that. MORE
Investors have spread the word that you can’t get “hockey-stick” growth without a large cash infusion. MORE
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. MORE
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. MORE
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. MORE
Has your business growth hit a plateau? Try these tips MORE
20 
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. MORE
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. Hockey stick growth" is like going viral � good luck with that! MORE
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. MORE
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. MORE
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. MORE
Because I have so much jewelry, I have to stick thumb tacks in the wall to hold it all up. More than that, he’s an avid unicycle hockey player. When you play unicycle hockey, you typically use a unicycle, an ice-hockey stick and a tennis ball. MORE
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. MORE
VC companies need hockey stick growth. By chasing hockey stick growth via automated high-growth channels, you might miss the boring, but gravity defying, methods that you do have at your disposal. MORE
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. MORE
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. MORE
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. MORE
Most typically, the financials, have that "magic hockey stick," seemingly so necessary in every plan, probably, either developed by the entrepreneur's accountant with or without the entrepreneur's input, and they all tie out nicely. MORE
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. MORE
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. MORE
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%. MORE
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. MORE
Note to entrepreneurs: if you're looking for hockey-stick like growth, steer clear of these sectors MORE
Hockey stick sales forecasts are cool when they’re based on some justifiable logic. It’s a common question: Why bother with financial projections? After all, they are never right, almost always inflated, and generally a waste of time. Right? Do investors even read them? And if so, why? I saw a great answer to that question in Pitching a VC: Why Financials Matter , posted earlier this month by David Hornik on his Ventureblog. MORE
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. MORE
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. MORE
I’ve been running it for over a year, but only recently has it begun to “hockey stick&# , in industry parlance. The Hockey Stick: As you can see from my chart of RSVPs, I’ve started to figure this thing out. MORE
As everyone knows, venture investors look for companies that show hockey stick graphs, and according to co-founder Joe Gebbia, his company had a horizontal drumstick graph. In 2009, Airbnb was close to going bust. Like so many startups, they had launched but barely anyone noticed. MORE
It’s also about proof and hockey stick traction. Lean Startup is about experimentation and learning. It’s about being intellectually honest and methodical in your approach. It’s about going slow before going fast. It’s about moving backward before moving forward. Investing on the other hand is about storytelling and big vision. So when raising money how do you balance this dichotomy? MORE
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. MORE
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. MORE
Your traffic graph isn’t going to spike or hockey-stick, and that doesn’t matter one bit if you’re talking to the right people. I used to blog out of guilt. Every now and then, my investors would sternly suggest I blog more. I’d grumpily obey and then point to the flat traffic graph as clear evidence of blogging’s fruitlessness. It was a self-fulfilling prophecy of fail. MORE
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. MORE
Hockey Stick Related Topics 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. Hockey stick growth" is like going viral � good luck with that!
Inc Startups
OCTOBER 27, 2016
Has your business growth hit a plateau? Try these tips
Inc Startups
NOVEMBER 25, 2015
Note to entrepreneurs: if you're looking for hockey-stick like growth, steer clear of these sectors
ArcticStartup
FEBRUARY 28, 2014
Those of us who live in Finland will be familiar with the more than exaggerated prices associated with taxis, but on the southern side of the Gulf of Finland thrives another kind of taxi culture, one that is so casual that it has a strong demand for taxi applications.
Redeye VC
APRIL 30, 2013
As everyone knows, venture investors look for companies that show hockey stick graphs, and according to co-founder Joe Gebbia, his company had a horizontal drumstick graph. In 2009, Airbnb was close to going bust. Like so many startups, they had launched but barely anyone noticed.
Brad Hargreaves
MAY 2, 2010
I’ve been running it for over a year, but only recently has it begun to “hockey stick&# , in industry parlance. The Hockey Stick: As you can see from my chart of RSVPs, I’ve started to figure this thing out.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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%.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Startup Professionals Musings
APRIL 6, 2016
Investors have spread the word that you can’t get “hockey-stick” growth without a large cash infusion.
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.
Instigator Blog
JUNE 24, 2013
It’s also about proof and hockey stick traction. Lean Startup is about experimentation and learning. It’s about being intellectually honest and methodical in your approach. It’s about going slow before going fast. It’s about moving backward before moving forward. Investing on the other hand is about storytelling and big vision. So when raising money how do you balance this dichotomy?
Up and Running
AUGUST 16, 2017
For example, missing crucial deadlines for finishing the business plan, or drawing hockey stick profit projections can repel potential investors. As a full-time editor and academic mentor at an academic writing service, I have read hundreds of business plans over the years.
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!
Both Sides of the Table
JANUARY 11, 2014
“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.
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.
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.
Inc Startups
MAY 21, 2013
Let me guess--you have a chart with a hockey stick on it. If you use any of these words, consider this your start-up slang intervention. Rockstar / • adjective, outstandingly good. As in, "We''re looking for a rockstar developer to join our team."
Software By Rob
SEPTEMBER 17, 2013
VC companies need hockey stick growth. By chasing hockey stick growth via automated high-growth channels, you might miss the boring, but gravity defying, methods that you do have at your disposal.
Up and Running
OCTOBER 8, 2014
Because I have so much jewelry, I have to stick thumb tacks in the wall to hold it all up. More than that, he’s an avid unicycle hockey player. When you play unicycle hockey, you typically use a unicycle, an ice-hockey stick and a tennis ball.
Small Business Force
JUNE 29, 2013
Most typically, the financials, have that "magic hockey stick," seemingly so necessary in every plan, probably, either developed by the entrepreneur's accountant with or without the entrepreneur's input, and they all tie out nicely.
K9 Ventures
MARCH 2, 2017
Most VCs love that stuff they want to see that hockey-stick growth (For the record, I do not. Dear Founders, I know you are all super busy. So I put the key message I want you to get out of this post right in the title of the post. But I really do want you to read on and try to understand and internalize what I’m trying to say here, as it’s not obvious, and especially not obvious when you’re in that phase of your startup. Startups are hard. We all know that.
Small Business Force
FEBRUARY 15, 2013
Sure, you've got a business plan and it shows the proverbial "hockey stick" of growth. Most of my blog posts are focused on keeping you out of trouble.This one is focused on that "oh, s**t" moment of extraordinary success that, hopefully, some of you will someday have.
Gust
NOVEMBER 29, 2011
Hockey stick sales forecasts are cool when they’re based on some justifiable logic. It’s a common question: Why bother with financial projections? After all, they are never right, almost always inflated, and generally a waste of time. Right? Do investors even read them? And if so, why? I saw a great answer to that question in Pitching a VC: Why Financials Matter , posted earlier this month by David Hornik on his Ventureblog.
The Startup Toolkit
DECEMBER 14, 2011
Your traffic graph isn’t going to spike or hockey-stick, and that doesn’t matter one bit if you’re talking to the right people. I used to blog out of guilt. Every now and then, my investors would sternly suggest I blog more. I’d grumpily obey and then point to the flat traffic graph as clear evidence of blogging’s fruitlessness. It was a self-fulfilling prophecy of fail.
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