I've been talking to a lot of investors this summer as we try to raise the money needed to grow and expand Batch in a big way. And as I go through presentations, our history, charts, and graphs, a lot of people are curious about the long-term, moonshot potential of our little company. Many investors are interested in seeing the "hockey stick" graph of revenue growth that looks like this (and is so named):

And while we certainly hope Batch can grow into something fun and exciting and lucrative, at this point, it's tough to say that we'd feel accurate about predicting we'll take off like that. Sure; we think our concept and team are solid and we could grow quickly with the right plan and capital. But we're also very reasonable folks and growth like that charted above is rare in any industry, even if it is badly desired.

But I can concur that some things in our world happen in "hockey stick" fashion, and that's the learning curve.

Since I became an entrepreneur eight years ago, I've learned an amount of knowledge through my experience, network, books, stories, and failures that parallels this desired growth track. Each year - each month, really - I learn more than I thought possible, seemingly doubling or tripling my knowledge compared to the previous year.

The learning curve for the entrepreneur is steep, and thankfully so. In fact, if you're not learning at a very accelerated rate as an entrepreneur, I'm going to argue that you're not doing it right, that something is amiss in your model or your business plan.

Of course, learning doesn't keep the lights on or the doors open - not directly. But I'd contend that if you're learning a lot, and that your learning is growing rapidly, then you're on the right path toward making the discerning and critical decisions that do help you keep the lights on and the doors open.

So chart your revenues. Tweak your spreadsheets. Double check those graphs and figures. But make sure you're learning. As fast as you can.