Blueprint to a Billion -- There are seven traits common among firms that go from zero to a billion -- based on the book by David Thomson.

Summarized the seven traits below under DETAILS.

$50 million is an inflection point -- Thomson found that these firms grew exponentially after crossing the $50 million threshold, reaching a billion within four to twelve years. That's why it's critical to get across the $5 million chasm and then the $25 million chasm.

1)Create and sustain a breakthrough value proposition – Identify 10-30 times advantage over your competitors.Focus on a promise that "only you" can deliver by finding an underlying 10 to 30 times advantage over your competitors.

2)Exploit a high growth market -- the key is picking a rapidly expanding market (Sandbox). You actually need to do this first before figuring out a breakthrough proposition.

3)Focus relentlessly on cash flow -- Continually improving your Cash Conversion Cycle

4)Leverage big-brother alliances -- think Microsoft's early alliance with IBM. Find a couple big players in your industry that can "walk you around" the rest of the industry.

5)Pack board with industry experts -- attract big named experts to sit on your advisory board.

6)Marquee customers to build credibility -- in the same vein as leveraging big-brother alliances.

7)Inside-outside leadership team -- if you weren't lucky enough to start the business with this kind of partnership, you need to find that key #2. Key lesson? Look for someone you've know for awhile -- a customer, school or childhood friend, family member, consultant you've gotten to know, supplier, industry expert -- and if you don't know them well, test drive them first by working on some projects together.