👇  The Big “A Ha” 👇

The startups that win possess an asymmetric amount of leverage over their market(s). 

Leverage comes from capitalizing on an inflection point. 

Yet, these are far from random. Inflection points can and should be planned for. Here is how to do it. 

Context: How Startup Growth Actually Happens

Most people tend to think linearly. Start with A, go to B, then to C, and eventually down the alphabet. 

But startups that win have a different trajectory. They have a step-function change that leads to exponential growth. Take this graph below: 

My Indiana University professor and startup founder, Matt Rubin, created this graphic and shared it with me. Matt was on my startup’s advisory board for about two years of my FinTech startup journey. I am in many ways a product of his insights from those formative years. 

Yet, coupled with my current investor experience, I draw additional insights from this graph. 

✅ I want to highlight two observations from this graph: 

• Startup growth, and by extension, value, does NOT increase linearly. 

• More specifically, startup growth is a function of “unlocks” or “breakout moments” along the journey that lead step-function increase of value. 

I term these “unlocks” or “breakout moments” as a startups’ “inflection point.” ✅

You can further observe that inflection points tend to be, but not always, correlated with a fundraise.  

But, when I saw this graph for the first time eight years ago, I asked myself this question: 

👉 What is happening at those inflection points? 👈

👉 Specifically, what did the startup do for that to happen? Can it be replicated? 👈

👉 Lastly, is it random, or can inflection points be intentionally designed into execution? 👈

After speaking to about 120 startups on a yearly basis for three years and investing in 16 companies, I have observed countless patterns. I will share what is happening there, that yes it can be replicated, and yes it can be intentionally designed. 

Inflection Points in Entertainment