How can entrepreneurs evolve their start-ups into resilient scale-ups?

Mojca Svetek  |  15 May 2024

For founders who started their venture with a vision of growth, scaling the venture is arguably the biggest challenge. Relatively few start-ups manage to scale, and even fewer survive the scaling. This episode focuses on scaling, with a specific emphasis on challenges that must be successfully overcome to ensure a startup can withstand a period of rapid transformation and emerge with resilience.

Join us in this episode as we explore:

  • What the difference is between growth and scaling;
  • What are three major organizational changes a scale-up must go through;
  • What are three key leadership changes a scale-up must embrace;
  • Why entrepreneurs who emphasize speed often fail at scaling.

 

Research articles:

  • Bohan, S., Tippmann, E., Levie, J., Igoe, J., & Bowers, B. (2024). What is scaling? Journal of Business Venturing, 39(1), 106355.
  • Coad, A., & Rao, R. (2008). Innovation and firm growth in high-tech sectors: A quantile regression approach. Research policy, 37(4), 633-648.
  • Coad, A., Frankish, J. S., & Storey, D. J. (2020). Too fast to live? Effects of growth on survival across the growth distribution. Journal of Small Business Management, 58(3), 544-571.
  • Davis, J. R. & Atkinson, T. (2010). Need speed? Slow down. Available at: https://hbr.org/2010/05/need-speed-slow-down
  • Demir, R., Wennberg, K., & McKelvie, A. (2017). The strategic management of high-growth firms: A review and theoretical conceptualization. Long range planning, 50(4), 431-456.
  • DeSantola, A., & Gulati, R. (2017). Scaling: Organizing and growth in entrepreneurial ventures. Academy of Management Annals, 11(2), 640-668.
  • Deschryvere, M. (2014). R&D, firm growth and the role of innovation persistence: an analysis of Finnish SMEs and large firms. Small Business Economics, 43, 767-785.
  • Govindarajan, V., Lev, B., Srivastava, A, & Enache, L. (2019). The gap between large and small companies is growing. Why? Available at: https://hbr.org/2019/08/the-gap-between-large-and-small-companies-is-growing-why
  • Jones, M., & Schou, P. K. (2023). Structuring the start-up: How coordination emerges in start-ups through learning sequencing. Academy of Management Journal, 66(3), 859-893.
  • Kaehr Serra, C., & Thiel, J. (2019). Professionalizing entrepreneurial firms: Managing the challenges and outcomes of founder‐CEO succession. Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 13(3), 379-409.
  • Van Lancker, E., Knockaert, M., Collewaert, V., & Breugst, N. (2023). Preparing for scaling: A study on founder role evolution. Journal of Business Venturing, 38(4), 106315.