Behind the 6x growth in one year.

The joys and dramas of a Brazilian startup in the growth stage

After being an entrepreneur for almost 5 years by now and building from the ground up 4 startups along the way, I’ve finally found my self moving from an early-stage startup focused on validating a business to a game of growth and value creation.

But It doesn’t mean things got easier. Trackmob, the company I joined last year, grew 6.3x since 2015, of which 1.8x in the first quarter of 2016.

If you never heard of us, that’s what we do in a nutshell:

Trackmob is a web platform that provides NGOs an easy way to integrate with payment processing companies to receive donations (one shot and recurring) in large scale. Along the way we improve transparency, build loyalty and enhance relationship with donors (learn more about Trackmob here).

Since it’s a different game, I thought it would be a good idea to share my impressions with you. Here are some of my thoughts:

The feeling

Different from the earlier stages of a business conception where you experience a mix of passion, amusement and anxiety, the growth stage is composed by a blend of adrenaline, fatigue and rush. Humor oscillates more. It’s paramount to be rational and calm when taking important decisions during those times.

New challenges

The first challenge is people, as some of the less prepared folks realize that growing a business is not as glorious as it seems. Some get nuts and abandon the boat. It’s just too much pressure. Scenarios get more complex and interconnected, beyond the brain power of some individuals. Those that don’t follow the pace will slowly be set aside. Be aware of them. They drag time and resources. Management and culture starts to get more relevant and tangible.

Scaling starts to be a challenge too. Not only the technical side, but almost everything need to be scalable and efficient. Billing, accounting, sales, recruiting, support… Growing without that means stressing the same pillars that sustain your business.

Risk assumes a different form. We are talking about potential deficits beyond your investment or cash flow. Options will multiply, and some of the opportunities that might prove itself a huge cash burn. It’s important to have someone knowledgeable in finance and strategy to guide you the way.

Positive atitude makes the difference

Although we had some really stressful situations along the way, we were able to keep a positive attitude. After you build and fail more than once, you start to learn to control your anxiety. Sometimes things are not as bad as most people think. That’s something I share with Trackmob’s cofounder, Jonas, who previously founded 4 startups as I did.

Conclusions

I have no doubts that the environment help us along the way. Skilled professionals are important, but I’m convinced that positive attitude is absolutely necessary. Good decisions are supported by data and some of them are technical decisions, though you need skilled professional. But at this stage I observe that the scenarios tend to be more complex, requiring more creativity and experience. I can’t complain – that’s what I’ve been looking for all this time.

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