All tagged Start Ups

The Revisionism That Comes With Success

Startups need to be scrappy to succeed. They need to push the boundaries of their markets, take advantage of all avenues and market rules to not only get their product to market but to compete with the bigger, more established players.

While it’s a nice idea to think that if they simply develop a great product, customers will flock to them, the fact of the matter is that a head to head battle against the market leader doesn’t usually end well for anyone but the incumbent.

StartUp Investing: Do The Numbers Matter?

One of the ways that my firm helps organizations is by forecasting commodity prices. That is, we study specific commodities (e.g. High Density Polyethylene) and, using both quantitative models as well as qualitative analysis, provide a view as to what will happen to the prices of those commodities 6 to 12 months out. It’s not a perfect science but it’s helpful in driving better decision making.

Every so often, I’ll have someone ask us for a detailed 24 month forecast. And every time, my answer is the same.