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. I laughed as I did at much of his rant. He even used some terminology near and dear to my heart.

Technical Review 384

Technical Review Hockey Stick SEM Channel 384

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 13, 2012

We kept talking, with Steve asking “How long are you staying in Silicon Valley?” When I told him, “two more days,” he asked, “Are you interested in meeting with venture firms in the Valley?” Maysee now enjoys hockey stick revenue growth.

Japan 292

Japan Customer Development Developer Customer 292

Version One Ventures

OCTOBER 31, 2016

As an investor and former founder, I know that scalable growth (and the pretty hockey stick graph) is the holy grail for every startup. Growth hacking and growth teams are so commonplace today, at least inside Silicon Valley, that it’s easy to forget that “growth” (as we know it now) is a relatively new phenomenon.

Software Review 60

Software Review South Africa Hockey Stick Viral 60

Professor VC

JUNE 7, 2018

I always enjoy teaching these types of groups because it makes me realize the bubble we live in here in Silicon Valley. In the video, Mark calls out Silicon Valley as lazy for not doing basic research around markets. You can get the gist from the following excerpt: "What have the people that have come before me done?

Silicon Valley 31

Silicon Valley Hockey Stick Venture Capital Lean 31

Reid Hoffman

DECEMBER 10, 2020

For a long time, when you looked at the graph, it was almost like a classic exponential “hockey stick” curve, where it’s flat for a long time, then hits the bend and takes off. One Silicon Valley saying that is not as appreciated as it should be is that many of the best companies are led by missionaries, not mercenaries.

Hosting 69

Hosting Hockey Stick IPO Silicon Valley 69

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 8, 2010

And the board, being enamored with Silicon Valley technology, first mover advantage and concerned about the huge price gap between a VCR and TiVo, agreed. This results in a much slower adoption curve – the classic hockey stick. As a result, the company instead chose to position TiVo as a New Market.

Hockey Stick 271

Hockey Stick Customer Development Silicon Valley Networking 271

Agile VC

JANUARY 27, 2012

Also, I’d argue these factors have made the “hockey stick” growth curves even steeper because when company’s “get hot” there are so many more eyeballs and networks to capture and convert. Im a former Silicon Valley entrepreneur turned East Coast VC.

Hockey Stick 113

Hockey Stick Seed Stage Silicon Valley Syndicate 113