If the wheels can’t get traction, it doesn’t matter how powerful your car’s engine is or how skilled a driver you are.
You won’t move forward.
It works the same way in your business.
If you haven’t built a strong foundation, it doesn’t matter how skilled, motivated, or determined you are as a business leader.
You won’t achieve strong growth.
When I say “strong growth,” I mean something like the success skincare brand The Ordinary has achieved—from its establishment in 2016 to 2023, reaching around 200 million USD in revenue.
Of course, a much smaller scale can still qualify as accelerated growth – the company is growing faster than the market and its most capable competitors.
We’re talking about double-digit growth rates of 15%, 20%, 30%, 40%, or more—never 3% or 5%, which often indicates stagnation when adjusted for inflation and market factors.
This isn’t meant to sound arrogant. But when a business grows revenue from, say, 100 million to 105 million in a fiscal year, it often signals competitive positioning that isn’t quite top-tier (unless we’re talking about a market in freefall).
A 5% increase can generally be achieved through a targeted professional marketing and sales effort.
On the other hand, a growth increase from 100 to 140 million in one fiscal year can only be achieved if the company offers products and a brand that customers and consumers see as something truly unique and the most attractive on the market.
In other words, a 40% increase in revenue can only happen if a strong growth foundation has been established in the form of a unique brand and an extraordinary company platform.
To drive sustained, accelerated growth, the brand must be able to break through to new customers, geographic markets, product areas, and even entirely new categories over time.
If your brand isn’t unique, attractive, and “top-of-mind” with your target group, creating growth becomes incredibly difficult.
People don’t line up to buy, carry, or recommend something that is unknown, unremarkable, or just like everything else.
If your company’s products don’t offer powerful benefits to customers, they will naturally be hard to market, sell, and gain recommendations for.
Your business model, leadership, and culture must also be visionary, dynamic, and innovative. Otherwise, you’ll struggle to attract the most talented employees and to develop future “must-have” products.
Let’s take The Ordinary through my simple but very demanding framework for accelerating a company’s growth.
The Ordinary doesn’t sell false dreams at high prices like many of its competitors. Instead, it focuses on the chemical science behind skincare in a transparent and thoroughly unique way in its branding.
The Ordinary markets its products by emphasizing the real chemistry behind each product, scientifically proven to have an effect on the skin.
For example, hyaluronic acid is considered a moisture magnet. It can hold up to 1,000 times its own weight in water, which helps keep the skin hydrated and plump.
For example, niacinamide, a form of vitamin B3, works wonders by reducing the visibility of pores and improving skin texture. It also helps brighten your complexion and even out skin tone, making it look less dull.
For example, retinoids derived from vitamin A are a powerful anti-aging ingredient. They promote cell turnover, meaning they help your skin shed dead cells and generate new ones more effectively.
The Ordinary’s brand differentiation is naturally rooted within the company’s organization.
All of The Ordinary’s products are developed by a team of in-house chemists who continuously push the boundaries of technology, efficacy, and cost-effective skincare production.
It’s the chemists, the science, and the innovation that drive the brand, the products, and the business—not the other way around.
In my opinion, The Ordinary is quite an extraordinary company.
And who else would have dared to choose the name “The Ordinary”? (“But, but, doesn’t that imply low quality?” I can hear a CEO whispering in my ear).
No, no. We’re building a unique brand that can accelerate the company’s growth—that’s the answer.
