Pushing the Rock: How to Successfully Scale Your Startup
Startups are like rock pushing…
Picture a small group of people, pushing a big rock up a hill. The rock is your startup. Scaling is what happens after you get the rock to the top. Magically, all of a sudden, the rock starts rolling down the hill, faster and faster, with the rock pushers frantically running along behind it trying to keep up, wide-eyed, out of breath, covered with sweat, with manic grins on their faces.
The hard part is having the determination to get the rock to the top. The rock is heavy. You’ve never been to the top of the hill, and you don’t actually know if the top you’re pushing towards is really the top or just another false peak. There are tree roots and mud pits to get the rock stuck in. There are even gentle valleys that invite you to rest with your rock, in the warm sun, instead of getting it all the way to the top.
Startups succeed when they solve a big problem where “size of problem = severity of problem x number of people that share the problem.”
That means a few things:
- First you’ve got to target a big problem.
- Then you’ve got to create a solution.
- Finally you have to find a way to cut through all the hype and noise and get people to try your solution.
Keep in mind, having a solution and solving a problem, are different. If you have a great solution, but no one knows about it or is compelled to try it, you haven’t solved anything.
Persistence Is Key
Startups that “scale rapidly” have usually spent years perfecting their solution and finding ways to be heard. They don’t stumble on the right mix of innovative solution, and sales and marketing magic, all at once.
Most startups quit after the first batch of money runs out — after they release “their baby” to the world and only the crickets show up to chirp their applause. They give up and settle once they start making enough money to get by.
Pushing that rock up the hill is hard.
The startups that finally get their rocks to the top are the ones that never stopped pushing. When they get their rock stuck, they ask strangers to help. They look for levers to help them push harder. They rig all sorts of contraptions to drag it out of the mud. They get to the valley with the warm sun, take a break for a snack, and maybe a bath (please, please stop for a bath), and then they push on. Most of the time, they’re so busy pushing, they don’t even notice they’re at the top until the rock starts rolling away without them.
The success factors are many, from having the vision to identify the big problems, to the creativity to design innovative solutions. From having the marketing and sales chops to find ways to get noticed to the persistence to get your rock to the top.
It’s a big hill. Keep pushing.
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