Before we get into it this week, a couple of updates.

First, if you’re a startup founder in Nashville, will I see you at 3686 on September 14-16?

If you’ll be there, reply and let me know. I’m excited to host a pop-up workshop as part of the conference week on Wednesday, September 16, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., with my friend Melissa Jones of 3816 Creative. For one hour, we’ll dive into what real-time customer feedback may be telling you about the durability (or lack thereof) of one of the most important moats in today’s market: distribution. If you’re interested, you can register here.

After this edition, I’ll be changing things up a bit with The Empower Edit. This newsletter has been a labor of love, and one which I know from feedback has helped and inspired many of you. That’s always been the goal: to provide growth-minded entrepreneurs practical foundations that leave them more empowered to reach new heights.

Delivering meaningful content requires time, thought and pattern recognition. What I’m starting to notice, if I’m being honest, is that it’s getting more challenging to go deep on a bi-weekly basis. And I don’t want to write content just for the sake of putting something out there. So, I’ve decided to move the newsletter cadence to 1x per month, on the first Thursday, at 11 a.m. CT. This adjustment gives me enough time to pull together:

I hope you’ll enjoy this next chapter and can’t wait for your reactions. If there’s anything on your mind you’d like me to address, I’m always open to suggestions that will help you take the next step forward.

Thanks for continuing to support this project. On to the regularly scheduled programming…

English Premier League soccer kicked off at the end of August, which in our house means: evening highlights on YouTube. My husband is the real fan. I listen in the background, usually typing away on my laptop, and occasionally my ears perk up.

That happened after Chelsea’s recent 4-3 victory over Brighton, when listening to the post-game interview with head coach Xabi Alonso.

To set the stage, within 32 minutes of game time, Chelsea was up 3-0. The team then conceded two goals before scoring its fourth and final goal. Brighton scored at the very end, making the final score 4-3, Chelsea wins.

But, digging deeper, there’s more behind that scoreboard result. After listening to the game stats, it turns out that, despite the win, Chelsea posted the team’s lowest possession figure in a Premier League match, at 25.6%, and the fewest completed passes since data tracking began in 2003.

By those data points, you’d think that’s a team that got outplayed. Alonso’s response in the post-game interview?

My translation: A single statistic or data point on its own isn’t an answer. It’s a prompt to ask a better question, to learn and to adapt strategy while still in motion.

A question worth asking here: was Chelsea’s low-possession win a fluke or an indication that possession time isn’t as strong an indicator of success as it’s been historically?

This game was a second occurrence for Chelsea. In the team’s prior victory, Chelsea pulled through with Fulham and similarly had a low possession percentage. That same article points out that other league teams with higher possession percentages are underperforming expectations. A game stat that’s historically been called on as a strong predictor of winning is now proving less conclusive.

Will this be a broader shift?

Probably too soon to tell.

How long before more teams and commentators scrutinize the data and potentially reconsider the definition of good?

This example is about soccer, but there’s a lesson for entrepreneurs here, too.

There’s a lot that can be measured in business to assess performance and inform decision-making. We can become engrossed in that which can be quantified. We can also cling too hard and too long to a specific KPI. Numbers need more context in the moment. They also need to be evaluated for usefulness over time. As a business example, response time used to be a strong indicator of customer success and future satisfaction, but over time, resolution quality started to matter more.

Data feels safe. Clean cut. Objective. But remember, the game is often messy, and the stats don’t give you the complete picture. On top of that, a number’s meaning can shift before your interpretation of it does.

Does your data look bad on the big screen, but you’re still achieving good outcomes?

Ask yourself: what metric are you still relying on as a reliable signal of good that, perhaps, stopped being one?

Bottom line: there’s a much bigger story than the top-line result can tell you on its own. What’s the context you’re missing to complete the narrative?

One Trick Pony makes organic, two-ingredient peanut butter (Argentinian peanuts & salt) in custom upside-down jars designed to solve the biggest frustration with natural peanut butter: oil separation.

Q: When did you know you were destined to build a business?
A: “I don't know that anyone is destined to start a business, but I realized pretty early on that I was far more energized by building something from scratch than maintaining something that already existed. From neighborhood lemonade stands as a kid to managing a P&L at Blue Bottle, I've always loved being involved in every part of a business. Starting One Trick Pony has given me the opportunity to do that on a much bigger scale.“

Q: What’s the most unexpected thing (+/-) that’s happened along your entrepreneurial journey?
A: “Realizing that the skills I thought would define me as a founder weren't the ones I ended up spending the most time on. I came into entrepreneurship thinking operations was my biggest strength. I loved building systems and processes, and assumed that would always be my role. Ironically, operations was one of the first functions I hired someone else to lead. As the company grew, I realized my job wasn't to do everything myself; it was to figure out where I could create the most value. Today, I spend much more of my time on fundraising, sales, product, and partnerships.“

Q: When did you hit your first scaling challenge, and how did you overcome it?
A: “Our first real scaling challenge was importing from Argentina. In the early days, it felt like every container arrived with a new problem: damaged product, broken jars, customs delays, you name it. We were learning global supply chains in real time, and there wasn't much room for error when every shipment represented such a big percentage of our inventory. It took a lot of trial and error, finding the right partners, and putting better quality control processes in place, but eventually we got that part of the business running much more smoothly. Today, our biggest scaling challenge is manufacturing capacity. Demand has grown much faster than we anticipated, and now the limiting factor isn't whether we can sell the product; it's how quickly we can make it. We're adding and expanding shifts, and investing alongside our manufacturing partners so we can keep up with growth. It's a much better problem to have, but it's still a constant balancing act.“

Q: If you were starting all over, what’s one piece of advice you would give yourself?
A: “Build in public earlier! People love being along for the ride and seeing the behind-the-scenes of your business.“

Q: A fun one, what’s your all-time favorite restaurant and where is it located?
A: “Albi in Washington, DC.“

If you see One Trick Pony on the shelves, give it a try. You can also learn more about the products and purchase them on the website.