Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 8, 2022

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. Startups are usually founded by product or service experts who don’t enjoy the various growth phases. The founder succession dilemma.

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Founder Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event 325

Where to Play

JULY 18, 2019

Founded by Dr. Amaël Cohades and based on over 12 years of research at EPFL (Switzerland), this startup needs to find the best market opportunity for its innovation. Hockey sticks. CompPair develops healable composite materials for extending the life-time of composite structures. The magic of self-healing materials.

Hockey Stick 67

Hockey Stick Switzerland Marketing Technical Review 67

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 17, 2022

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. He has helped many companies with this problem, and as an advisor to startups, I see the same common themes leading to growth slowdowns.

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Hockey Stick Guerilla Acquisition Startup 265

Startup Professionals Musings

NOVEMBER 27, 2015

But for startups with limited resources and experience, I always recommend a soft launch or toe-in-the-water approach in a local market -- and scale up later. In fact, for startups, it usually makes sense to announce your solution on social media and blogs even before you have built the first one. Maximum agility for required pivots.

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Hockey Stick Startup Stealth Agile 120

Startup Professionals Musings

APRIL 19, 2020

Investors will tell you that they love to put money into startups that are scalable, and ready to become the next unicorn. Investors don’t invest in services startups. Here are some pragmatic tips on how to make your startup more scalable and investable: If you need investors, start with a scalable idea. Automate to the max.

Hockey Stick 386

Hockey Stick Intellectual Property Startup Non-Compete 386

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 11, 2021

Almost every early-stage startup who has approached investors for funding has heard the innocuous sounding rejection “I love your idea, but come back when you have more traction.” 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 304

Hockey Stick Early Stage Metrics Acquisition 304

Gust

APRIL 4, 2024

Yielding 10x growth or more, known as “hockey-stick growth,” remains the goal for many investors. But only one percent of startups become unicorns; in fact, most VC-backed companies don’t reach their expected rate of return.

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Hockey Stick Cofounder Founder Startup 79

Startup Professionals Musings

JANUARY 14, 2023

Investors will tell you that they love to put money into startups that are scalable, and ready to become the next unicorn. Investors don’t invest in services startups. Here are some pragmatic tips on how to make your startup more scalable and investable: If you need investors, start with a scalable idea. Automate to the max.

Hockey Stick 339

Hockey Stick Intellectual Property Non-Compete Business Model 339

Software By Rob

DECEMBER 2, 2014

I’ve just released a 2-hour audio documentary chronicling the story of building and launching my latest startup, Drip. 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). Startups'

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Audio Hockey Stick Database Green 60

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 15, 2023

Adding free users or customers to increase valuation makes sense for a venture-backed startup looking to go public, but will kill bootstrapping. Investors have spread the word that you can’t get “hockey-stick” growth without a large cash infusion. You can have fun without spending big money.

Equity 349

Equity Hockey Stick Bootstrapping Sweat Equity 349

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 114

Hockey Stick Technical Review Due Diligence Seattle 114

Startup Professionals Musings

MAY 18, 2020

Adding free users or customers to increase valuation makes sense for a venture-backed startup looking to go public, but will kill bootstrapping. Investors have spread the word that you can’t get “hockey-stick” growth without a large cash infusion. You can have fun without spending big money.

Hockey Stick 423

Hockey Stick Bootstrapping Sweat Equity Intellectual Property 423

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 10, 2019

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. Startups are usually founded by product or service experts who don’t enjoy the various growth phases. The founder succession dilemma.

Hockey Stick 243

Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event Startup 243

Up and Running

MARCH 14, 2018

I’ve raised close to $1 million from angel investors for my previous technology startups. Below is a format I’ve successfully used for my own ventures, and to help many other first-time startup CEOs raise investment capital. Image via WOCinTechChat. I know what it’s like to pitch to investors—both angels and venture capitalists.

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Hockey Stick Exit Strategy Technical Review Angel Investor 164

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. For starters it brings a mindset to startups that not all of them have innately.

Technical Review 384

Technical Review Hockey Stick SEM Channel 384

Software By Rob

DECEMBER 2, 2014

I’ve just released a 2-hour audio documentary chronicling the story of building and launching my latest startup, Drip. 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 Database Green 27

Steve Blank

NOVEMBER 13, 2012

The Japanese edition of The Startup Owner’s Manual hit the bookstores in Japan this week. Back in 1990’s, I was working for one of the leading sogo shohsa (trading company) in Japan, building data communications startups. The result: great success of my third startup, a load balancing technology for web servers back in the late 1990’s.

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Japan Customer Development Developer Customer 292

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. Venture capital likes startups looking to grow. Growth is good.

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Forecast Hockey Stick Startup Sales 130

Startup Lessons Learned

JANUARY 15, 2010

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. No departments The Five Whys for Startups (for Harvard Business R.

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Hockey Stick San Francisco Entrepreneur Lean 105

Startup Professionals Musings

SEPTEMBER 7, 2013

Investors will tell you that they love to put money into startups that are scalable, and ready to scale. Investors don’t invest in services startups. Here are some pragmatic tips on how to make your startup more scalable and investable: If you need investors, start with a scalable idea. But what does that really mean?

Hockey Stick 278

Hockey Stick Intellectual Property Startup Non-Compete 278

Austin Startup

OCTOBER 24, 2017

Retention The scary reverse-hockey stick chart shows up in this report, too. As it turns out, app retention & conversion are hard was originally published in Austin Startups on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story. On the other side, though, ugh.

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Retention Conversion Hockey Stick eCommerce 48

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. As part of our fireside chat, Andrew and I discussed some of the most important growth strategies for startups. Then, the startup needs to get strong product-market fit.

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Software Review South Africa Hockey Stick Viral 60

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.

Forecast 114

Forecast Hockey Stick Angel Investor Sales 114

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 26, 2013

Almost every early-stage startup who has approached investors for funding has heard the innocuous sounding rejection “I love your idea, but come back when you have more traction.” 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 266

Hockey Stick Early Stage Metrics Acquisition 266

Startup Professionals Musings

JULY 19, 2013

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. Startups are usually founded by product or service experts who don’t enjoy the various growth phases. The Founder succession dilemma.

Founder 245

Founder Hockey Stick Cofounder Liquidity Event 245

Up and Running

JANUARY 2, 2013

If your financial chart shows “hockey-stick growth,” be sure to explain what happens to cause those inflection points. You’ll see investors taking out their smartphone calculators to make sure your numbers make sense, so give them the information they need to see that your calculations are accurate.

Hockey Stick 164

Hockey Stick Exit Strategy Technical Review Due Diligence 164

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. He has helped many companies with this problem, and as an advisor to startups, I see the same common themes leading to growth slow-downs.

Hockey Stick 120

Hockey Stick Guerilla Startup Acquisition 120

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. He has helped many companies with this problem, and as an advisor to startups, I see the same common themes leading to growth slow-downs. Marty Zwilling.

Hockey Stick 263

Hockey Stick Guerilla Acquisition Revenue 263

Startup Professionals Musings

DECEMBER 14, 2014

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. Startups are usually founded by product or service experts who don’t enjoy the various growth phases. The Founder succession dilemma.

Hockey Stick 268

Hockey Stick Cofounder Entrepreneur Liquidity Event 268

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. And while it's impressive (and probably still an argument you want to make to investors), there may be other ways in which you can visualize your startup's potential.

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Hockey Stick Startup Audience Conversion 120

David Teten

JANUARY 19, 2021

More and more startups are pursuing Revenue-Based VCs , but “RBI” doesn’t fit everyone. As a result, unfounded hockey-stick graphs and unicorn promises give way to financial fluency, realistic expectations, frank conversations about what a business can credibly achieve, and transparency. . of startups raise VC.

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Cofounder Technical Review Equity Dividend 78

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!

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Seed Stage Hockey Stick Cap Table Liquidation Preference 131

Startup Professionals Musings

AUGUST 19, 2017

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. Startups are usually founded by product or service experts who don’t enjoy the various growth phases. The founder succession dilemma.

Hockey Stick 144

Hockey Stick Cofounder Entrepreneur Liquidity Event 144

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. He has helped many companies with this problem, and as an advisor to startups, I see the same common themes leading to growth slowdowns.

Hockey Stick 130

Hockey Stick Guerilla Acquisition Revenue 130

Steve Blank

JANUARY 4, 2010

A lot of entrepreneurs think that their startup is the next big thing when in reality they’re just building a small business. How can you tell if your startup has the potential to be the next Google, Intel or Facebook? A first order filter is whether the founders are aiming for a scalable startup. The Scalable Startup.

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Hockey Stick Venture Capital Startup Cofounder 276

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. We can draw lessons for this for new startups. It was on Techcrunch this morning. It’s an amazing chart. They’ve lived the dream. In particular for founders who plan to emulate the success of AirBnB.

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Hockey Stick Forecast Startup Valuation 60

Startup Professionals Musings

FEBRUARY 14, 2016

Investors will tell you that they love to put money into startups that are scalable, and ready to scale. Investors don’t invest in services startups. Here are some pragmatic tips on how to make your startup more scalable and investable: If you need investors, start with a scalable idea. But what does that really mean?

Hockey Stick 120

Hockey Stick Intellectual Property Non-Compete Business Model 120