Navigating the Highs and Lows of Business Growth — Event Recap: WIN NYC x Betaworks
Growth begins with the right mindset. According to Carol Dweck, author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, individuals who believe their talents can be developed through hard work, good strategies, and feedback are said to have a growth mindset. In fact, those with a growth mindset achieve more than those with a fixed mindset because they worry less about looking smart and invest their energy in learning.
“You can’t always know it all! When I have a knowledge gap, I lean on experts and I reach out to my network so that I can make informed decisions.”
WIN NYC in partnership with Betaworks, a startup studio based in NY, kicked off the decade with four ceiling breakers who are successfully growing and scaling some of the most promising startups in the country. Their commitment to learning along with their ability to adapt demonstrate the power of a growth mindset.
We heard from Kailu Guan, co-founder of skincare startup HelloAva Beauty, Nisreen Hasib, COO at sex tech startup Unbound. Suma Reddy, co-founder and COO at food startup Farmshelf, and Lauren Vriens, General Manager at electric moped startup Revel. Each one took the stage to share their growth strategies and the challenges along their journeys.
“It’s important to learn and unlearn things as you go. Let go of your ego. As founders, the company you are creating is your baby, you have to learn to not take it personally”
Here’s Our Top 3 Takeaways
There is more than one way to measure growth
Growth metrics vary by business, where revenue might be the priority for one business, customer retention might be key for another. Make sure you are putting the metrics in place that match your business’s objectives and and the stage your business is in.
TOP METRICS FOR EACH STARTUPRevel: user growth, market reputation, and organizational maturity
Farmshelf: number of units installed
HelloAva: number of users, data collected, and revenue
Unbound: customer retention, business expansion, and gross profit
“How can I put myself in a position, to use my power and privilege to make this world better?”
2. Growth isn’t linear
The reality is that not all businesses will grow at the same rate. For Farmshelf, the first four years were focused on developing the product; four years of zero growth meant different priorities and metrics. While Revel, experienced a growth rate of over 4,000%., some of its biggest challenges have been tied to underestimating its growth rate. As Lauren put it, it’s the very unpredictability of growth that we should be prepared for.
“If you don’t mind being an entrepreneur, you probably don’t mind a bit of chaos – somethings are not a part of the plan”
3. In times of explosive growth, values can act as your north star
A key theme on the stage remained that in order to grow, you have to change. But change is tricky and can be detrimental to the company’s culture, in turn affecting future growth. While growth might shake up your business’s way of working, it should not change the foundational values of where your business began.
“We’ve had to grow quickly, in many ways we have built our wings after jumping out of the window. But no matter what changes, we always stick to our values. We are independent, accountable, and humble. We take our work seriously, but not ourselves”
A huge thank you to our partners and host for the evening, Betaworks, along with our fabulous WIN Ambassador from New Inc., Kelsa Trom who facilitated our panel discussion. We’d especially like to thank the founders, Kailu Guan, Nisreen Hasib, Suma Reddy, and Lauren Vriens, who shared their growth stories and advice with our community. What an exciting time to be an innovator!
Photography: Annie Chen
Writer: Marcela Madera
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