Rienk Franken’s Post

🗣 "...the truth is only one out of ten start-ups survive, in other words, the chance of a start-up to become a scale-up is around 0.5%." What strategies are essential for navigating the path to scale-up success? Find insightful perspectives in this article by Özlem Atan on LinkedIn about scaling up and achieving business growth. https://lnkd.in/evurMuh6 #ScaleUp #StartUp #BusinessGrowth

🗣 "...the truth is only one out of ten start-ups survive, in other words, chance of a start-up to become a scale-up is around 0.5%." What strategies are essential for navigating the path to scale-up success? Find insightful perspectives in this article by Özlem Atan on LinkedIn about scaling up and achieving business growth. https://lnkd.in/evurMuh6 #ScaleUp #StartUp #BusinessGrowth

🗣 "...the truth is only one out of ten start-ups survive, in other words, the chance of a start-up to become a scale-up is around 0.5%." What strategies are essential for navigating the path to scale-up success? Find insightful perspectives in this article by Özlem Atan on LinkedIn about scaling up and achieving business growth. https://lnkd.in/evurMuh6 #ScaleUp #StartUp #BusinessGrowth

𝐍𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬: 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 Earlier this year, we had the privilege of inviting Mike Maples, Jr from Floodgate for a talk on navigating startups through innovation. In a world where startups vie for attention and success, Mike stands out not just as an investor but as a visionary who sees beyond the horizon. With a keen focus on what he terms "Inflection Theory," Mike has carved out a niche that looks deeply into the core of what makes startups succeed or fail. Here are some key takeaways from Mike’s talk: 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭: At the heart of Mike's investment strategy is the belief that true startup success stems from insights rather than mere market assessments. These insights are non-consensus and correct views of the future, often born from the founders' ability to "live in the future," enabling them to intuit what to build with uncanny accuracy. This future-centric perspective is crucial, as it informs the intuition that guides the creation of products and services poised to redefine markets. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐒𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞: Mike distinguishes between what he calls "startup capitalism" and "typical business capitalism," highlighting a sequence that starts with a profound insight, moves to product development (achieving product-market fit from 0 to 1), and then scales growth from 1 to N. This sequence underscores the importance of investing in insights and the capacity to pivot, as 85% of profits come from these strategic shifts. Most significant companies often begin with a vision of the future rather than a product ready for the present market. 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: A crucial part of Mike's evaluation process involves stress testing the founders' insights and the inflections they believe are happening. He asks pointed questions about empowerment: Who does it empower? How? And under what conditions? This helps distinguish between mere trends and true inflections — the turning points that signal a fundamental shift in the market or technology. Mike’s approach to investing and supporting startups is a delicate craft that combines foresight, strategy, and the art of possibility. As we navigate the ever-changing landscape of innovation, his insights serve as a beacon for those daring to dream big and build the future. 𝐖𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐮𝐬: 𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑑𝑜 𝑀𝑖𝑘𝑒’𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑢𝑝 𝑠𝑢𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠? 𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑢𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒? 🌐

The process of creating a startup involves countless hours of hard work, determination, and passion. After successfully navigating the initial hurdles of starting up, you are ready to take your business to the next level. The process of scaling and expanding your startup can be both exciting and challenging. Here is where startup strategy consulting comes into play. To understand how strategy consulting helps startups scale and expand their businesses, let’s look at what it does. Imagine you are the captain of a ship navigating uncharted waters. Your map indicates the route you should take to reach your destination, however, you are unsure which route to take. #strategyconsulting #startups | Ankush | Atif

Why startups hire new CEOs as they grow? When #startups transform into #scaleups, they often bring in new CEOs to steer the company. While the initial stages of a startup involve understanding market demand and outpacing competitors, scaleups require a shift in focus towards sustainable growth and strategic planning. As a company grows, the role demands a different set of skills 😉 Scaleup CEOs are expected to have experience in leading larger organizations, focusing on long-term goals, identifying key metrics for growth, and developing strategies to increase the company’s reach and appeal. One critical aspect of scaleup leadership is understanding the unique selling points (USPs). Scaleup CEOs are also better equipped to handle challenges such as IPOs and strategic decision-making that aligns with the company's long-term vision. So, the transition from a startup to a scaleup often means: bringing in a new #CEO! https://bit.ly/42Z0xav

Growth Milestones: Bootstrapped vs. VC-Backed Companies Read a very interesting analysis by ChartMogul on bootstrapping vs VC-backed companies and given the thousands of founders and entrepreneurs I thought to share some of the key insights. Bootstrappers typically experience more linear, constant growth compared to VC-backed startups. The top quartile of bootstrapped companies hits $1M ARR in 2 years, just 4 months slower than their VC-backed counterparts. Interestingly, median VC-backed and bootstrapped companies both reach $300K ARR at similar times. However, VC-backed companies then accelerate faster, hitting $1M ARR in under 3 years, whereas bootstrappers take over 3 years. The growth gap widens significantly at the bottom quartile, highlighting the challenges faced by lower-performing bootstrappers without external funding. Key Insight: Bootstrapped companies show more consistent growth patterns across quartiles. While external funding boosts growth for VC-backed companies, it’s not the sole factor driving their success. The economic downturn hit VC-backed early-stage startups hardest. Bootstrapped companies below $1M ARR have historically lagged behind VC-backed ones in growth, but the recent slowdown has hit VC-backed firms harder. Q1 2024 marked the lowest growth rate for all SaaS companies, with VC-backed startups seeing a peak of 126% growth in Q2 2021, dropping by 90 percentage points since. Bootstrapped companies saw median ARR growth slow by 60 percentage points from Q4 2020 to Q1 2024 #Growth #Startups #Bootstrapping #VentureCapital #SaaS #ARR #BusinessGrowth

The process of creating a startup involves countless hours of hard work, determination, and passion. After successfully navigating the initial hurdles of starting up, you are ready to take your business to the next level. The process of scaling and expanding your startup can be both exciting and challenging. Here is where startup strategy consulting comes into play. To understand how strategy consulting helps startups scale and expand their businesses, let’s look at what it does. Imagine you are the captain of a ship navigating uncharted waters. Your map indicates the route you should take to reach your destination, however, you are unsure which route to take. Using a skilled navigator, you can plot your course, avoid obstacles, and reach your destination safely and efficiently. In the same manner, a strategy consultant can be an invaluable resource for you as you chart the path of your startup. #strategyconsulting #startups | Stratsmith | Ankush

The process of creating a startup involves countless hours of hard work, determination, and passion. After successfully navigating the initial hurdles of starting up, you are ready to take your business to the next level. The process of scaling and expanding your startup can be both exciting and challenging. Here is where startup strategy consulting comes into play. To understand how strategy consulting helps startups scale and expand their businesses, let’s look at what it does. Imagine you are the captain of a ship navigating uncharted waters. Your map indicates the route you should take to reach your destination, however, you are unsure which route to take. #strategyconsulting #growth | Stratsmith | Atif

Do things that don’t scale If you are a founder and you have never read this article by Paul Graham, I highly recommend doing so. Even though the article was written more than ten years ago, back in July 2013, the principles revealed in the article remain unchanged. One of the common misconceptions that Paul dispels in this article is the misconception regarding the start: “Startups take off because the 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐟”. Take-off doesn’t happen because of a great idea, a big launch, or a beneficial partnership; it happens because of your daily hard work. These are my takeaways from the article: 🔸Acquire users manually: Early-stage startups should focus on manually recruiting users rather than waiting for users to come to them. And you also should be very proactive to build momentum. 🔹Delight users: Your service should be outstanding, and your customers should have an insanely great experience working with you. Don’t think about scaling at that moment; if you have a scaling problem in the future, it would be a nice problem to solve. 🔸Feedback loop: You don’t need to create something perfect from the first shot. Do it, deliver it, get feedback, make the appropriate changes, and then return to your users. 🔹Manual operations: Don’t try to automate the process from the very beginning. Try to find a problem you can solve, even if you solve it manually. Doing things manually will give you a better understanding of how it can be automated later. 🔸Big launch: It doesn’t work, so don’t spend time on it. 💡 It's not enough just to do something extraordinary initially. You have to make an extraordinary effort initially. https://lnkd.in/dJmKAVt7 #development #outsourcing  #investments #SDaaS  #OutsourcingUkraine #itoutsoursingforsturtup #startup  #borodinitoutsourcing #projectmanagement