Want Hockeystick Growth? Try These Strategies from Airbnb, Slack, Instacart, Dropbox and Netflix When you look at stories from the early years at these and other hugely successful companies, three trends emerge.

We've all seen those charts showing "hockey-stick growth." They are the envy of entrepreneurs who haven't found it, and among the most important moments in a company's history for those who have. Hockey-stick growth tells a story: A company was slowly finding its way, and then — rocket ship. The rest is history.

But hockey-stick growth didn't just happen. Something triggered it. There was an inflection point. What was it?