16
May

Execution: The Secret Ingredient for Scaling Successfully

The most difficult part of a start-up is not the starting up, but the scaling up. This is because a start-up is a different organizational entity than a large established company. As the organisation grows, you need to actively work on acquiring a completely new set of skills, executing a known business model, generating profits and achieving liquidity for its founders and investors.

But the process of transforming a start-up to the next level can be quite confusing because it is not just a linear transition. Rather, it is a metamorphosis. And while having a great strategy is good, what is even more crucial is the implementation of that strategy on the ground.

Here are some ways to ensure that your growth strategy has the best chance of success.

Revisit Your Raison d’être and Goals

Take some time out to think about why you started in the first place, and check whether your mental image of the company matches its operations in the real world. Also, revisit your goals, both for the short and long term. You may find that there is a disconnect between your original aspiration and what you are doing on the ground. You might even be ok with this change, but it’s important to be honest with yourself and acknowledge it. This is even more crucial if there are multiple founders, who might not be on the same page.

Sit down and ask yourself what your Lowest Common Denominator is. This is a very important exercise in the pre-growth stage since the belief system needs to be transferred to new leaders, employees, investors in the future.

Reset Communication Channels

While communication happens almost seamlessly in the early days, it takes a backseat along the way, as business demands increase. Operational issues get discussed regularly, but the larger discussions around company vision etc. are hardly discussed. This eventually leads to a lack of alignment between the founder/s and the team. Putting proper channels of communication in place can help address this.

Realign the team to support your growth objectives

While growing start-ups often thrive without fluid job definitions with a focus on ‘getting stuff done,’ continuing this style of functioning into the growth stage can be chaotic. So, focus on aligning your team and delegating to experts, so everyone can focus on what they do best, and work towards the growth objectives.

Once you lay the ground, you will be much better equipped to execute your growth strategy. We recently put together a whitepaper on ‘Scaling seamlessly’ that is intended to work as a guide for founder-led start-ups as they shed the start-up tag and embark on a growth path. You can access it here: https://abovenbeyond.in/scaling-seamlessly/