The Hockey Stick Principles, Bobby Martin
The Hockey Stick Principles, Bobby Martin
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The Hockey Stick Principles
The 4 Key Stages to Entrepreneurial Success

Author: Bobby Martin

Narrator: Jamie Renell

Unabridged: 10 hr 19 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/24/2016


Synopsis

In The Hockey Stick Principles, author Bobby Martin shifts his focus away from all the hype about rapid growth and the pursuit of funding and instead takes a look at the real process behind getting a good idea off the ground.

Many business audiobooks fuel unrealistic notions about what a good idea looks like, how fast a founder should attract investment, and how quickly growth will take off. The problem with this mythology is that it can sometimes end with entrepreneurs abandoning their dreams too soon if they don't see immediate results.

Using a hockey stick as a metaphor and highlighting four key phases, Martin shows the healthy way a business should grow and uses entertaining stories and interviews with successful entrepreneurs like the founders of LendingTree, Under Armour, and iContact, woven throughout the audiobook to not only share a wealth of advice, but to chronicle the ins and outs of these different phases:

-The Tinkering Period: The tip of the stick, or the time when you first develop and hone your idea.
-The Blade Years: The formative years when growth can be flat and navigating the unpredictable process of
creating a company can be rocky.
-The Inflection Point: The crucial point in time right before your business takes off when it's important for
entrepreneurs to prepare and make decisions to properly manage rapid growth.
-Surging Growth: Once your company proves that they have potential, you need to optimize that growth and
scale up in a sensible way.

Innovation almost always involves a number of challenges, misdirections, and uncertainty and can take several years of struggle. But The Hockey Stick Principles gives aspiring entrepreneurs and those in the midst of the messy process a realistic, human, and inspiring understanding of what starting an innovative business is like, while teaching you what to look out for along the way as you shepherd your business through to success.

About Bobby Martin

BOBBY MARTIN has cofounded two successful startups, one of which, First Research, a leader in sales intelligence, was sold to Dun & Bradstreet. He’s deeply involved with five other startups as an angel investor and advisor. Martin is chairman and cofounder of Vertical IQ, a leading provider of sales research insight for banks. He speaks frequently about entrepreneurship at universities around the U.S. and at corporate events. In 2006, he was the recipient of the Triangle Business Journal's "40 Under 40" Award in Raleigh.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jim

My interest was piqued by the title of this book, as I have often used a "Beware the Hockey Stick" warning in my teaching, based on experience with startup businesses and their "wishful thinking" business plans. (They always seems to in what Martin refers to as "the blade" stage, projecting great th......more

Goodreads review by Nirali

This is a fantastic compilation of the various trials and tribulations that founders have at different stages of their business. A lovely vote of confidence that regardless of the idea and market, the route to execution for new ventures broadly follows a similar trajectory - makes me believe in the......more

Goodreads review by Jayme

Who doesn't want hockey stick revenue growth for their business? The beauty of this book is that the author doesn't provide a silver-bullet solution to get you there. He's realistic while also encouraging about the rough road that often lies ahead for all entrepreneurs and ways to stay the course an......more