How to grow from Startup to Scaleup

Hi!

Welcome to Sparksense's Newsletter! Every month, I personally bring insights to fuel your sales strategies, drive business growth, and succeed on your entrepreneurial journey. Sparksense has grown into a talented 25+ Business Development Advisor team to serve ambitious Deep Tech Entrepreneurs.

After numerous pivots, sleepless nights and uncertainty, you’ve survived the chaos and crushing ambiguity of start-up life. You developed a unique tech idea or already patented an offering for customers.

You developed a great tech solution, are ready to sell and go from Startup to Scaleup.

But the same strategy that got you through the initial start-up stage, is not working anymore. Still wondering why? Tech companies face different challenges when it comes to scaling up and coping with risks at various stages.

Let’s take a look at the issue and accelerate your sales with 3 scaleup paths!

Most new ideas fail in the market—even if competently executed. ?- Alberto Savoia, Author of The Right it!

3 scaleup paths to grow your startup

“What got you Here, may not get you There” definitely applies to entrepreneurial struggles. Before we jump into the action points to help you choose a correct strategy for scaling up, let’s cover the basics.

Recode in 2016 provided the following definition which we think are to the point:

• A startup is on the quest to find product-market fit, developing and iterating its product or service, experimenting with customer segmentation and working toward a positive contribution margin.
• A scaleup, on the other hand, has already validated its product in a market, and has proven that the unit economics are sustainable.

When a Venture is exiting the startup phase, it generally needs to choose:

• In-house Scale up – Develop and test the product in-house. Upon successful development and validation, set up production units and sell through their own channels.
• Outsourcing a function of the business – Letting an external partner handle the function, for eg. Marketing or HR or production, to get expertise in the field.
• Licensing – Licensing a well-developed technology to another company / person and charging a royalty fee on the net profits or revenue-share-agreement obtained through implementation.?

Consider these key factors guiding your scaleup strategy

So to go from Startup to Scaleup, you must consider a broad range of factors and balance what is desirable with what is feasible.

• Barriers to entry – in some industries, regulation, certification, scale of production, brand reputation or distribution can be formidable barriers to a new Product entrant; in such case a Licensing strategy could be preferred
• Time-to-Market – Depending on the stage of startup, competition and strength of IP, licensing can be a fast track route to get your product in the market faster.
• Integration risk – while you might have validated a first lab prototype, some residual technology risk might remain from the integration of your solution into existing products; a high integration risk threshold would favour a licensing strategy to OEM
• Team capabilities – Available expertise and experience of your team will confirm the capabilities to produce inhouse or with partners; this allows you to focus on your core strengths, avoiding the challenge to develop expertise across the board.
• Access to capital and Return on Investment – Licensing requires much less investment and time as compared to in-house development. The access to adequate capital is often a key driver in strategy decisions.
• Location and cluster – your geographical ease of access to specialised capabilities, processes, talent and know-how can play a decisive role in your scaleup

How to implement your scaleup strategy?

Once you have chosen a strategy based on the above factors, below are some key steps to consider on your path from Startup to Scaleup.

1. Research the environment and current situation – Assessment of the external environment is critical to know your market, know the bigger picture and the challenges you might face.
2. Build a plan based on the idea and selected strategy – Assess your core competencies, adopt your business plan in line with the selected strategy and capabilities of your team, set KPI’s and a clear roadmap for the future.
3. Outsource what is non-strategic to optimise leverage – find the right partners, for non- essential activities and focus on leveraging on key capabilities. Scaling up is not only about leveraging internal capabilities but also outside resources.
4. Strengthen your team to support core capability – Recruit more people to strengthen special know-how and broaden the Management skill set of the team.
5. Leverage your network to build collaborations – Network plays a key role in building trust with the partners for your idea. Leverage your existing network to find the right partner with required competencies to scale up your idea.
6. Monitor and Evaluate the results – regularly review KPIs to evaluate the success of your strategy and take corrective actions as necessary

A plan, no matter how strategic, is only a plan. The success of scaling up depends on actual implementation but also the ability to react to changing market conditions.

Is Paperwork Holding You Back? Speed up growth with Dropbox

Scaling your business means handling more purchase orders and contracts. To streamline this, we recommend Dropbox Sign, a powerful and affordable tool for growing companies.

As your team closes more deals, efficiency is key. Dropbox Sign ensures seamless and secure document signing.

• Quick Signatures: Eliminate printing and mailing. Send and sign documents electronically, saving time and reducing errors.
• Secure & Compliant: Bank-level security and compliance with global e-signature laws ensure your contracts are safe and legally binding.
• Smooth Workflow: Integrate with apps like HubSpot, Salesforce, and Google Drive to keep your sales process seamless.
• Team Collaboration: Manage and track document progress, assign roles, and get notifications, keeping everyone in sync.

At Sparksense, we rely on Dropbox Sign to handle contracts efficiently, allowing us to focus on what matters – accelerating sales in Deep Tech Startups.

Scaling-up sustainable energy storage: Meet Libattion

Our Client, Libattion raised €14 million in funding, led by A&G Energy Transition Tech Fund, with contributions from Spanish automotive supplier Teknia, Portuguese fund HCapital New Ideas II, and Swiss utility EBL. This investment marks a significant milestone in their journey from startup to scaleup.

Libattion’s unique approach involves reusing EV batteries from the European automotive sector, promoting sustainability and reducing resource consumption. Their "e-Racks" support energy flexibility, renewable integration, and fast EV charging, showcasing their commitment to innovative and sustainable energy solutions.

Watch an interview with Libattion?founder, Stefan Bahamonde where he shares his Sales journey!

Tap into hidden market opportunities in … Automotive Industry

Are you feeling like you're not getting the traction you need to grow your business? Or maybe you are having trouble competing with larger competitors? That’s why we work with entrepreneurs to find hidden champions or second tier players who offer untapped potential.

Do you want to have access to more decision makers? Let’s work together to identify the Hidden Champions that need YOUR STARTUP’s solution.

Book a call with us & gain access to key decision makers

Talk to us to learn how we can accelerate your sales – No Strings Attached!

Do you want to generate qualified business leads? Our business development Advisors bring technical background to understand your technology. We execute a robust sales process to deliver tangible results. We shorten your sales cycle, increase conversion to achieve faster sales.

Here are some key Industries where we can help you access decision makers:

Entrepreneurs engage with us to generate qualified leads in flexible ways:

• STARTER to help you access launch customers, pilots and deliver first revenues.
• GROWTH to build your customer base, recurring revenues, and gain market insights.
• SCALE into global markets, find new applications with in-depth analytics and insights.

Read more about our services and packages here. Additionally, you can download our comprehensive Business Development Guide ebook, offering valuable insights and strategies to enhance your entrepreneurial journey. Download your Business Development Guide ebook.

Let’s talk to find out how we can help take your business to the next level. Book a free call with me today!

Thank you for reading! If you have any questions please feel free to email me directly.

Sincerely,

Hervé Flutto,

Managing Director and Founder, Sparksense

Subscribe here to the e-mail version.