According to statistics, 74% of startups close due to rapid or incorrect scaling. To avoid being one of them and to understand how to grow. A business systematically and what this process consists of. Read our free translation of the article by. Ben Horowitz , founder of the venture fund Andreessen Horowitz. We supplement his insights with our experience.
Why can’t you just delegate the process to an outsourcer or mentor?
Entrepreneurs are usually advis to find a mentor or c level contact list people. Who have already gone through scaling and know how and what to do. In short, to delegate the process to outsourcing. The advice is good. But if you do not understand scaling, it is difficult to evaluate the work and real skills of the people hir for this.
To start scaling even with specialists, you ne to understand the basics, principles and pitfalls that are best avoid.
How to Scale: Back Down Gradually and Three More Tips
There are three main barriers to growing a business :
1. Communication. A company of five people is not a new ai model to solve complex problems the same as a company of 100 or 1000.
2. Knowlge of how processes are structur. When new employees come in, it is difficult to delegate old processes to them if there is already someone who understands it better and works faster .
3. Decision making. Who is responsible for the process and the result, who determines the strategy of the direction and the company.
Therefore, the main rule of transition to scale is gradualness.
Don’t put all the responsibility of a position on a new person and don’t transfer complete control over processes.
Tip #1: Narrow your specialization
Many people join a startup as a “jack of all trades,” meaning zn business directory they work for two or three people. One person can write code and test it, manage the build system, and then test the product bas on this code. Or a marketer analyzes the target audience, conducts in-depth interviews, provides technical specifications for website texts, and even selects SEO keywords.
The company is growing and hiring new specialists becomes more difficult: “the old ones already understand the processes and can handle it” – this way of thinking slows down growth.
Determine what exactly the current specialist can delegate to a new one – and look for an employee for a specific pool of responsibilities.
