Category: Disruption

Whether it’s starting a business or investing in stocks, our endeavors often come with risks. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), approximately 20% of new businesses fail during the first two years of being open, 45% fail during the first five years, and 65% during the first 10 years. And as much as 90% of people lose their money in stock markets (Source: Research & Ranking).

These statistics may be discouraging, but risks can yield a big reward too. For example, when Whole Foods Market was created in the 1980s the United States had less than six natural food stores. There wasn’t evidence that there was a large market for natural and organic food. Despite its rocky start, Whole Foods was able to become the industry-leading grocery-store chain for healthy food (Source: Washington State University). Whole Foods Market now operates 472 stores worldwide with a net income of $245 million (Source: Statista).

“The biggest risk is not taking any risk… In a world that is changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.” -Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook

Justin Hatch has taken some risks in his career. Some of them have panned out while others didn’t. However, in both failure and success, he learned from the chances he took, and he used the lessons he learned to create a successful business that helps others understand their endeavors and calculate their risks.