Blitzing the gaps

2024 is turning out to be an interesting year.

At Disruptors Co we are engaged in a number of programs facilitating growth of businesses, research projects and enterprises. And we are helping tech and manufacturing businesses who need to adjust to changing market demands, and who are seeking out new territories for their businesses. On top of all that, we are also building tech solutions for our customers.

In development of all these programs, technologies and services, we are always laser focused on how best to execute growth - for us, as well as the businesses we work with. That means we need to find ways to support growth, but it also means we need to be absolutely cognizant about what might act as an inhibitor to growth.

I’ve been mentoring startups and helping small businesses to grow for about 15 years now, and I’ve seen many different growth strategies explored. But the one thing that seems consistent over time, has been a misunderstanding about what might be preventing growth.

I’ve come across a seemingly endless array of founders who are absolutely convinced that investment and funding is what is stopping them from growing. They wax lyrically about what they could do if they only had more cash. And in a market where global venture funding is falling , the competition for that investment has never been greater.

But is it truly funding that is preventing growth? Are these startups really failing because they are unable to become what they envision for their businesses?

The answer to these questions is not quite as simple as many startups and startup advocates would have you believe. Yes, cashflow is generally a problem for startups. But as any small business will tell you, cashflow is always a problem for any company, and you should plan for that.

In my experience, mentoring so many startups over the years around the world, the big problem for startups is not actually lack of investment. It’s investability.

Since the 1990s, nine out of every ten startups have been failing in their first year of operation. In spite of the plethora of incubator or accelerator programs that have popped up around the world, that dial has not shifted at all.

My belief is that in these incubator and accelerator programs, startups have mostly been following a program for growth and investment that is entirely replicating the pathways of the one in ten startups that have succeeded into their second year of operation. These programs haven’t even paid attention to the fact that those startups that do make it to Year 2 and beyond, are also at high risk of failure, even with investment. In 2022 alone, an estimated US$108 billion was lost on startups that failed . So investment is no guarantee of startup success, anyway.

In my experience, startups in such programs have been so focused on pitching for investment, that they have failed to consider what might actually be preventing them from growing. Ironically, this lack of focus on the true gaps to growth also acts as an inhibitor to investment. Startups may have developed a great presentation deck and have a few inspiring case studies of customers who have benefitted from their product. They may even have a detailed vision and business plan for their future success. But they haven’t actually plugged the gaps in their business that are raising flags for any investor who is fundamentally interested in seeing business growth.

This is why I’m excited about facilitating the new CSIRO program, Gap Blitz , in 2024. In that program, we will be calling on our experience working with startups and small businesses, right through to household brand big businesses, to help startups identify and address the gaps that are truly impacting their growth. We won’t be ignoring investment, but we will think about how the companies can best de-risk any investment that is on the table, or on the horizon. We will be helping these startups to understand how to overcome these inhibitors to growth, and we will be putting them in a better position to attract the kind of funding that will improve their prospects of longer term success.

It is my hope that we can develop a program that will shift the success rate of startups and that we can capitalise on the limited funding out there. I want to see startups achieving their vision by looking clearly at their markets, their competitors and the way they work. And I’m excited to see how we can make startup investment that much more reliable and accessible.

To find out more about the Gap Blitz program visit the site here: https://research.csiro.au/lindfieldhub/gapblitz/

Applications close on Monday 5 February 2024, so please share with anyone who might be interested in blitzing the gaps in their startup.