Page 132 - 6 Secrets to Startup Success

Your Math Story 111

ting your intended trajectory and identifying the factors most likely
to impact it. Your math story is also a mechanism for bringing the best
of your passion, what you care most deeply about, together with plan-
ning and logic in the right measure.

During D1’s explosive growth years, J.C. Faulkner often referred
to his math story, which brought together the key elements of his vi-
sion, strategy, and business plan in a simple, coherent narrative. It
served as a focusing mechanism and an anchor for every significant
decision and action. “Even before launching, I spent a year fine-tuning
my math story of what the new business would look like,” he said. “It’s
like I did dress rehearsals for this new marriage for twelve months.”

As an added benefit, J.C.’s math story helped him skillfully recruit
key team members, investors, and other partners. “The one thing that
created trust,” he said, “was that people could see that I had a tremen-
dous amount of confidence in what I was talking about. I had figured
out the math story so well, and could explain it in such a logical fash-
ion, people clearly understood why this business would be successful.
The more they understood it, the more they wanted to be a part of
it.” Like many entrepreneurs, J.C. is naturally optimistic, but his deep
confidence in D1 came from rigorous preparation and immersion in
the right numbers, an area in which he thinks many fellow founders
fall short. “Everybody wants their idea to work,” he said. “And a lot of
people try to sell their idea in vague terms, but they don’t take the
time to ground it, to operationalize it. The more you can make it gran-
ular to the point where it’s irrefutable, or at least grounded in logic,
the more people will get excited about it, both intellectually and emo-
tionally.”

Constructing a useful math story involves bringing together in-
terlocking puzzle pieces from two sides of a single coin. The first side
is your core concept, the organizing logic and rough shape of the busi-
ness you want to create. Tim Berry, whose 2008 book The Plan-As-
You-Go Business Plan I highly recommend, likens this conceptual core
to the heart of an artichoke. It is the centerpiece around which all of
your key decisions and week-to-week tactics are attached.3 On the
other side of the coin are financial keys that represent critical ratios or
variables that will drive the early viability and health of your venture.

American Management Association • www.amanet.org