own your growth

Good morning Predictable Revenue community,

I discovered Hamilton Helmer’s book, 7 Powers, late in my startup career and have struggled to reconcile how and where it fits in a startup’s journey. Here’s my best attempt to describe it’s importance and where it fits.

Here’s the tl;dr:

• There are only three drivers of growth, product market fit, a well built revenue team, and Power (as defined by Hamilton Helmer in 7 Powers).

• Product market fit creates a temporary advantage in the market that enables a new company to insert itself.

• A well-built revenue organization converts the temporary advantage into something sustainable.

• Power enables a company to sustain growth and become a market leader.

• Some Powers need to be cultivated in the early days and need to be considered much earlier than most founders think.

Here’s the full version:

There are only three drivers of growth, unmet market needs, a well built revenue organization, and Power. In order to become a market leading company, a startup will need to develop all three, in that order. Zirtual, a virtual assistant service started in 2011, found strong product market fit and scaled to $11m ARR in just a few years. They shut down abruptly in 2015 because they couldn’t scale their revenue to keep up with their investments in operations and ran out of cash. Mosaic Netscape was able to profitably reach users but lost their momentum when a large competitor entered the market. They released Mosaic Netscape in October of 1994, captured 75% of the browser market, and went public in August of 1995 at a $2.9b valuation. Their extreme product market fit was snuffed out when Microsoft bundled Internet Explorer with Windows 95. Strong product market fit will get you into the market but it takes a strong revenue organization and a sustainable competitive advantage to build a market leader. 

Product Market Fit is a temporary market advantage that exploits a set of unmet needs that your competitors either didn’t see or decided to ignore. Your success will become the case study for why competitors need to pay attention to your market. When their attention turns to your niche, growth will become more challenging. Deals that once closed quickly will now be slowed because buyers will have more choice. It is not good or bad, it is a reality that you will need to prepare for. This temporary gap enables your entry into the market and if you want to maintain your growth rate, you and your source of growth will need to evolve. 

A well-built revenue organization amplifies the impact of strong product-market fit by ensuring that the demand for a product or service is effectively captured, nurtured, and converted into growth. Success at this stage is driven by your ability to add profitable customer acquisition channels, consistently close new business, manage customers to success, and nurture customers that aren’t ready to buy yet. It is the well built revenue organization - comprising sales, marketing, customer success, and related functions - that transforms a temporary market gap into sustainable growth.

Power - your sustainable competitive advantage - is the hallmark of market leaders. As Hamilton Helmer outlines in his book “7 Powers,” Power is the strategic advantage that enables companies to generate lasting, superior profits. This enduring strength is what distinguishes market leaders from their competitors, allowing them to consistently achieve market-leading returns and maintain their dominance over time. Establishing Power might seem like a priority for later stages of growth, but since some Powers can only be cultivated during the early phases of a company's creation, it’s crucial to consider them from the outset. By integrating strategic advantages early on, you lay the groundwork for long-term success and ensure your company can sustain its competitive edge as it scales.

Does this align with your startup journey? Either way, I’d love to hear from you.

Collin Stewart

PS - how do you feel about “Own Your Growth” as a potential book title? I like that it’s shorter and punchier than “The Terrifying Art of Finding Customers” and would love your feedback.