Mentors Magazine: Issue 3

50 | MENTORS MAGAZINE | EDITION 3

scaling will take you into a slow but certain

death spiral.

Do we consistently make smart, informed

decisions? Seat-of-the-pants management

without good data may be standard oper-

ating procedure in the early startup stage,

because you have no choice. But that ap-

proach gets risky with increased size. When

scaling, lack of performance data frustrates

all attempts to make sense of what is actu-

ally working, to identify the elements that

need to be fixed right away, and to focus

on the pieces of the business model that

are successfully being transformed to full

scale. The ability to measure key elements

of the business model, and to use this op-

erating data to make timely decisions is

one clear signal that you are ready to shift

into scaling mode.

Can we acquire top talent when we need

it? Talent acquisition is like digging a well:

It is best done before you need the water.

Don’t let weaknesses in your talent system

— in terms of acquisition, motivation and

retention — leave you lacking the people

and performance you need at critical stag-

es of scaling.

There are other important questions you

need to consider: You need an honest ap-

praisal of your organizational stability and

effectiveness, your strategic and execution-

al leadership, and your ability to partner

and collaborate — since no single enter-

prise can do everything by themselves.

This may sound impossible to achieve, but

fortunately, perfection is not a prerequisite

for scaling. Don’t worry if you are not top-

notch in all these areas; very few startups

are. And most weaknesses can be im-

proved during scaling so that the enter-

prise grows into its new, larger size. But

attempting to scale despite gross weak-

nesses in almost every element of the busi-

ness model will overwhelm the team, chew

up funds, and slow your progress to a

snail’s pace — a sure formula for failure.

Set the Strategic Direction Early

Before any startup embarks on scaling into

new markets they need to decide on a

strategy for growth. Some markets are best

served by the original business model. But

in many new or distant markets, the best

business model for scaling the startup is

not the same as the original.

Before you push the scaling start button,

determine if and how your original busi-

ness model needs to be adapted to fit com-

mercialization in the targeted markets. It is

likely the most important decision you will

make.