
The difference between a scale-up and a “stall-up” comes down to 20 success factors. Learn more about the must have competencies for your scale-up management team in our report The Art of Scaling.
Download nowThe only data-underpinned
framework for scaling
There is no formula for scaling. We see it as a holy grail – a worthy pursuit that will generate real value without its initial goal ever being reached. We have researched thousands of companies and we identified what differentiates those that scale from those that stall: the Scale-Up Success Factors.
Do you want to know how you perform on each of them? The ScaleUpScan is a revolutionary tool that benchmarks your venture against thousands of scale-ups and stall-ups, pinpointing exactly where you are on your scaling journey.






- Scale-Up DNA
- Ambidextrous Leadership
- Business Flywheel
- Strategic Leaps
- Dynamic Structure
- Access to Finance
Before a business ever scales, it first gets started.
It all starts with a compelling vision – the articulation of a mission to resolve a large, real, urgent need, through an ambitious, future-oriented, innovative, compelling business concept
74% of scale-ups have articulated their future clearly (versus 41% of stall-ups). Having a mission that is socially orientated increases the probability of scaling by approximately 3 times.
Impact orientation is a
success factor.
The team is more important
than the dream.
Scale-ups are built on a foundation of professionalism and trust. To achieve that, scale-up leaders act as “multipliers”. They spot and unleash the genius in their employees and provide the context and resources that allow people to flourish.
“Multiplier” leaders strive towards reducing the organization’s dependency on them. The goal is to help everyone around them rise to the level they become multipliers themselves.
96% of scale-ups been founded by 3 or more founders.
Scale-ups take senior hiring more seriously. 42% of scale-up CEOs spent >10% of their time on senior hiring.
Nearly 2 thirds of scale-ups have a supervisory board, compared to 46% of stall-ups.
A step-change in productivity.
Scale-ups have to quickly accelerate sales momentum. Operations need to keep the business moving and functioning at peak levels, as well as rapidly learning how to become better and more efficient.
By constantly conducting experiments and tracking resulting performance improvement, scale-ups achieve a high “learning velocity”.
72% of scale-ups conquer a beachhead.
48% have sales that grow faster than production.
80% launch at least 2 improved versions of their product a year.
Like a skater on thin ice, you
need to keep moving or drown.
Strategy is about discovering new products to offer, and new markets and customers to serve. To stay ahead, the company needs to keep innovating.
60% or scale-ups constantly expand their product service.
64% of scale-ups generate >20% of their revenues internationally.
Going international isa success factor
Lone wolves hunt rabbits,
wolf packs hunt bison.
The scale-up needs more organization than a startup, but it still needs to remain highly adaptable. The result is a dynamic structure – like a pack of wolves that is agile yet trained, open to increase in numbers yet closely knit together. In packs, grey wolves bring down bison, moose, or musk oxen. On their own, they hunt rabbits or beavers.
Fostering a tribe
- 92% of scale-ups believe they can have global impact
- Scale-ups are 2x as likely as start-ups to be like “one, big family” instead of having clear work-life separation
Learning & experimenting
- Almost all scale-ups (96%) encourage their employees to experiment
- Scale-up employees have the freedom to deviate from the playbook
Access to finance
As they scale, ventures need significant funding – think of production facilities, or building an international sales team. It truly helps if the business model allows for positive working capital – indeed firms with negative working capital can grow themselves into bankruptcy.
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ScaleUpScan
The ScaleUpScan helps you identify your venture's scaling challenges, allowing you to prioritize growth opportunities in a 6-12 months horizon.