Starting in 2004, I spent a few years tracking the promising story of Freddy Adu. Freddy, then a “14” year old phenomenon, and widely tipped to be the next big thing in soccer, became the youngest athlete ever to sign a professional soccer contract. He was drafted by D.C. United. United made a bet that he would grow into a superstar and would either help the club win many trophies or would be traded for a handsome return. Freddy was a flop. There was a rumor that although he appeared small, he was actually “20 something” and was only better than his youth teammates because he was significantly older. Whatever the true story is, United made a massive error in evaluating Freddy’s potential.

I spent the last two weeks in the Bay Area with senior executives of the several businesses owned by our Limited Partner. Our objective was to explore the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Valley (hence my inability to write in the last two weeks). We met with many young companies with aspirations of growth and domination. However, I observed a clear distinction between companies with demonstrable potential for growth and those without. When analyzing growth potential, I focus on three primary levers: Customer satisfaction; Unit economics and Distribution.

• Customer Satisfaction: Customer satisfaction is arguably the best way to prove scalability, due to the power of the virtuous cycle of referrals. Satisfied customers drive greater retention rates and spread positive news about the brand, which results in further customer acquisition and more revenue. Companies use several tools such as Net Promoter Score (NPS) to measure customer satisfaction. High-growth companies have high scores relative to their peers, possess a deep understanding for why and have clear strategy and resources to exploit their advantage.

• Gross Margin: Strong unit economics provide solid validation for sustainable profitability of a product beyond temporary factors such as hype or promotion. Additionally, there is a self-reinforcing loop between customer satisfaction and profitability. The more customers refer a product to peers, the lower a company’s customer acquisition costs and the higher its profit margins.

• Capacity / Distribution: This is a catchall for all the processes that culminate in an economic transaction. Distribution starts with the capability to source and produce enough inventory followed by the ability to place it in the hands of customers as quickly as possible and in a way that is most convenient to them. Certain constraints in this value chain could limit the ability of a business to scale. A great example I read recently used inventory constraints to explain why Uber is valued more than Airbnb. Whereas there are relatively fewer people willing to open their homes regularly to strangers, there are many car owners with excess capacity to transport others during their down time.

When assessing startups, investors and entrepreneurs must carefully assess scalability of key growth levers. For example, is observed revenue growth driven by discounts? Is the product scalable at full price? Are there potential bottlenecks to growth e.g., scarce raw materials, regulations around distribution etc.?

Freddy’s case reminds me a bit of myself. While in college and at 5’6 and 135lbs, I lost a meaningful sum of money investing in height enhancing supplements. I only stopped when I realized that instead of growing taller, I was developing love handles.

Feels good to get back to writing!