6 Secrets to Startup Success

CHAPTER FIVEYour Math Story

Charting a Path to Breakevenand Beyond

“Numbers rule the Universe.”

—Pythagoras

Remember the tale of Icarus and his passionate flight toward the sun? Although the story ended in tragedy, it began as an example of entrepreneurship at its best. Daedalus, the father, was the idea guy. He might have watched birds fly high above the prison walls for months before his eureka moment. He then devised a plan of escape and built wings of wax and feathers. When the time was right, he and Icarus launched themselves out over the sea, flapping their way to freedom. The exhilaration of that moment must have exceeded anything felt by passionate entrepreneurs before or since.

Underneath the courage and emotion, however, Icarus and ...