The StartUp to ScaleUp Game Plan

The StartUp to ScaleUp Game Plan

By Gary ReemanBusinessEntrepreneurshipInvesting
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The StartUp to ScaleUp Game Plan episodes

  • Leanne Kemp: How will blockchain make the world a better place by 2030?

    How will the blockchain & the "circular economy" create a better world by 2030?

    Leanne Kemp is the CEO @ Everledger – an award-winning scale-up who use blockchain, artificial intelligence, intelligent labelling & IOT to increase transparency in global supply chains. Leanne is also Chief Entrepreneur at The Office of Queensland Australia and an Advisor to the OECD and the World Economic Forum


    We explore:

    • Why blockchain technologies are a force for the good in terms of supply chain transparency & trust
  • How blockchain will transform the World Wide Web into the World Wide Ledger
  • The circular economy & why will this change the world for the better by 2030!
  • Sustainability: how to use web 4.0 technologies to convert waste into value 
  • How regional collaboration between government, academia & startups can produce many successful “zebras” as opposed to rare, hyper-successful, unicorns!
  • Why the innovation delivered by “quiet achievers” should inspire us more than the hyperbole of iconic entrepreneurs who make it to the front page of Time Magazine 

    • For more insights into blockchain & the circular economy head over to https://www.everledger.io & for advice on successfully scaling B2B software ventures check out https://alpinasearch.com




    23 min
  • Sakari Pihlava: have 18 months runway when you pivot - or your business is doomed!

    Sakari Pihlava is a General Partner @ Vendep Capital investing in European B2B SaaS ventures. We explored:

    The advantages of product-led growth strategies versus marketing-led strategies

    How to identify consumer-like customer segments who can help generate hockey stick growth for B2B Saas ventures

    How to pivot effectively:

    Pivots should never be incremental - they must be significant strategic shifts 

  • Whenever you pivot, you must ensure you've 18 months runway - otherwise your business is doomed!

    For more insights into Vendep Capital head over to https://www.vendep.com & for advice on hiring stellar senior talent for your B2B SaaS venture check out https://alpinasearch.com



    17 min
  • Mark McDermott - would you like to deliver 6x revenue ramp & transition from SME to blue chip clients?

    Mark McDermott is Co-Founder & CEO at ScreenCloud, funded by Point 9 Capital, who supercharge the way companies display, interact with, & act upon key news & insights. We explored:

    • How to deliver a full platform rebuild whilst ramping your revenues 6x!
  • How to recruit a distributed team across 3 continents & how to flex the culture locally without sacrificing your core organisational values 
  • Why scale-ups must hire leaders who’ve rapidly scaled small businesses previously: neither early stage startup nor blue chip experience prepare you for the unique challenges of a scale-up
  • How teaching fitness & gym classes has grown Mark's confidence in public speaking as well as his physical & mental health 
  • Why the pandemic requires leaders to be more empathetic & more open in their internal communications 
  • How ScreenCloud's pre-emptive action to offer to credit their clients - before CV19 lockdowns became widespread - has built trust & alignment with their customers

    • For more insights into ScreenCloud head over to https://screen.cloud & for advice on successfully scaling your enterprise software venture check out https://alpinasearch.com

     





    42 min
  • Andre Francois: How to effectively evaluate WFH employee engagement & motivation

    Andre Francois is the CEO & co-founder at Happy at Work who's digital solution helps organisations measure & monitor their well-being and create sustainable work environments - rather pertinent in 2020 when people, businesses and society are suffering immense health and wellness challenges!


    This episode was recorded in late April 2020: Andre was in lockdown in Budapest – where he relocated before the COVID19 pandemic to join Design Terminalʼs startup accelerator


    Key insights from our conversation include:

    • How to evaluate employee engagement levels & motivation in remote work environments 
  • Routines are crucial for remote teams - how to get the best out of your WFH teams 
  • How to ascertain if your business is ready to relocate to join a startup accelerator 
  • Creating a strong culture & replicating it overseas is challenging - Andre outlines his tips for overcoming these challenges

    • To find out more about employee engagement & well-being head over to http://bit.ly/happy_at_work_io and for guidance on hiring talent for B2B SaaS scale-ups check out https://alpinasearch.com


    21 min
  • Rav Dhaliwal - there's no such thing as post-sales!

    Rav Dhaliwal, now a Venture Partner @ Crane Venture Partners, has 20 years of leadership positions in hypergrowth enterprise software ventures like Slack, Zendesk & Yammer.

    We explored why enterprise technology CEOs & leadership teams must:

    • ensure customer success is everyone's priority - hence there is (or should be) no such thing as post-sales!
  • change their hiring processes to ensure they hire for customer-success behaviours 
  • update remuneration models to incentivise customer success behaviours
  • prioritise change management expertise across all leadership roles
  • implement hiring processes that enable them holistically to understand the behaviour of candidates before they are hired 

    • For more insights into Crane Ventures head over to https://crane.vc & for advice on recruiting & retaining senior talent to scale-up your enterprise SaaS venture check out https://alpinasearch.com

     



     

    32 min
  • Mark Roberge - The Science of Re-establishing Growth: Where, When & How?

    Mark Roberge is the MD @ Stage 2 Capital, Prof @ HarvardHBS, former CRO @ HubSpot & author of best seller "The Sales Acceleration Formula"

    We explored:

    • Lessons from the 2008/2009 crisis & the bold decisions business leaders must make in 2020
  • The premature obsession with revenue growth versus go-to-market fit & customer retention
  • How to hire a CRO with the ability to deliver SUSTAINABLE revenue growth 
  • The data required to ascertain if you truly have go-to-market fit
  • How “group film reviews” can help businesses uncover strategies to navigate the COVID19 crisis
  • How to deliver sustainable differentiation through network effects, algorithmic differentiation & an ecosystem of deeply embedded partners 

    •  For more insights into Stage 2 Capital check out https://www.stage2.capital & for advice on hiring world class talent for B2B start-ups & scale-ups head over to http://alpinasearch.com



    50 min
  • Alun Baker - disrupting the cybersecurity market @ Clario Tech

    Alun Baker, CEO of Clario Tech –  a disruptive cybersecurity venture - has decades of experience building & leading to exit tech ventures across a diverse range of industries including cybersecurity, ERP & IT infrastructure. 

    We discussed:

      • Why the COVID19 pandemic has massively increased our vulnerability to another pandemic: cybercrime threatens each and every one of us!
  • Why the cybersecurity industry is not delivering on its promises - and how Clario is radically disrupting this industry
  • Remote working strategies to ensure effective collaboration, productivity & strong team spirit
  • Top tips for hiring virtually 
  • Why and how business leaders should aim to utterly disrupt business models and industries
  • How technology entrepreneurs & marketers should engage with, and create genuine value for, their customers

    •  

     

     For more insights into Clario Tech check out https://clario.co & for advice on recruiting world class leaders for tech scale-ups head over to http://alpinasearch.com

     

    34 min
  • Alston Zecha at Eight Roads: building a funding roadmap & using capital as a competitive advantage

    Alston Zecha is a Director at Eight Roads - a global VC who’ve invested $6bn in the past 12 years.

    Formerly with Apax Partners, Alston also founded & led the mobile payments venture Payleven who merged with SumUp 5 years ago.

    Alston reflected on:

    • The resilience & focus he's seen from experienced entrepreneurs in the portfolio who’ve taken tough decisions during the COVID19 pandemic to support subsequent growth
  • The importance of being human & remaining "in the moment" - especially during such troubling times
  • Why capital as a competitive advantage was a blindspot for Alston when he was an entrepreneur and why he feels this continues to hold back many technical founders 
  • The importance of having a funding “roadmap” as well as a product roadmap
  • His view that tech founders rarely create truly unique solutions - they rarely create a category from scratch

    • For more insights into Eight Roads check out https://eightroads.com/en/ & for advice on hiring exceptional leaders for B2B scale-ups head over to https://alpinasearch.com

     



    37 min
  • Alexandre Pelletier, Cap Horn VC: Why profitable will become sexy again

    Alexandre Pelletier is a Partner at the French B2B VC fund Cap Horn.  He invests in enterprise software & SaaS ventures like Powell Software, Reach Five & Saagie

    Prior to becoming a VC, Alexandre had leadership roles at Tata Communications and Microsoft.

    We discussed:

    • The advice Cap Horn is giving to their portfolio to help them survive the COVID19 pandemic
  • The vitality of unit economics - too often overlooked by startups    
  • Why "partnering with influencers” is a vital go2market strategy for enterprise software startups & scaleups 
  • Why Cap Horn don’t believe in unicorns, they believe in champion horses
  • Why profitable will become sexy again!
  • Why this is a superb time to start a business - or to rethink your business

    •  For more insights into Cap Horn check out https://caphorn.vc & for advice on hiring world class talent for B2B scale-ups head over to https://alpinasearch.com

     




    39 min
  • Mikael Johnsson, Oxx VC - intense focus to scale-up enterprise SaaS winners

    Mikael Johnsson co-founded Oxx VC in 2016 to help bridge the gap for European B2B software companies who have great traction but need capital to scale up. On 11 Feb 2020 Oxx closed a further $133m in funding to back Europe’s most promising SaaS ventures. Mikael's completed over 30 equity transactions and sits on several boards including the potential unicorn - Funnel.io.

    We discuss:

    • Too much VC investment going into B2C startups hence many potential B2B ventures are left behind
  • The viability of creating successful B2B ventures with slower initial revenue growth - typically overlooked by VCs
  • Intense focus as a recipe for success both for VC funds & B2B startups
  • Why Oxx encourages portfolio companies to take a breather & assess some of the things they may have overlooked in the early stages to build a stronger foundation for sustained growth 
  • The dynamic progress of funnel.io - a strong contender for future unicorn status - a team of smart, passionate, dedicated individuals hell-bent on solving a very large, high impact, problem 

    •  

    For more insights into enterprise SaaS venture funding check out https://www.oxx.vc & for advice on hiring world class talent for B2B SaaS start-ups and scale-ups head over to http://alpinasearch.com








    22 min

About The StartUp to ScaleUp Game Plan

From the publisher's feed

Insights from successful entrepreneurs & VCs: how to globally scale innovative technology ventures