Because companies scale sublinearly, the theory predicts sigmoidal growth for them; Walmart's growth from 1994 to 2008 matched the theory's predicted red line, and this pattern repeats across all 23,000 companies — they all start as hockey sticks, then bend over and die like organisms.

forecastpending

Speaker

Geoffrey West

Evidence Quote

They all start looking like hockey sticks, they all bend over, and they all die like you and me.

Source

Geoffrey West: The surprising math of cities and corporationsTED
Created: 7/4/2026, 9:38:42 PM

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