Seven Key Takeaways from the Scaleup Conference
Yesterday, we successfully hosted our Scaleup Conference! We thought you might be curious about key learnings that we gained. Although there were many, below is a quick summary.
The emergence of the subject of scaling up businesses revolved around their goal of achieving rapid and sustainable growth. Scaleups can deliver by 2034 approximately 150,000 more jobs across all regions in the UK and £225 billion (net) towards UK GDP, which demonstrate an increase in productivity in all sectors of the economy. There is a need for support and guidance on how companies can scale up, and the conference was there to bring together those resources.
The conference featured both individual speakers and panelists as per image below:
Seven key takeaways from the conference:
- Understand that scaling up is essential
Nick Howe, NatWest, ‘Scaleup companies are particularly collaborative. They attract investors and stakeholders into the London market. Jobs created by scaleups are high-quality and assist in keeping the talent here in the UK.’
- Focus on building your team
Paul Lantsbury, PwC, ‘The most accessible entrepreneurs recognise where their skills are and where they need to build a team around to help the skills they need to improve. You must understand your objective and have the right people around you to grow your business.’
- Don’t be afraid to challenge your potential investors
Roshan Puri, Calculus Capital, ‘Spending time with people is important. Don’t be afraid to challenge your potential investors about their knowledge of your business. The process can take a long time and can be frustrating, but will be rewarding when you get the right investment partner on board.’
- Get your house in order
Karen Holden, A City Law Firm, ‘Be honest, prepared, and transparent about failings and weaknesses. Fill gaps and address vulnerabilities. Get your house in order. Have confidence, honesty and preparation. Exercise caution before jumping straight in and make sure that they are right for you.’
- Don’t fall into the trap that funders are reluctant to businesses
Ian Warren, NatWest, ‘Over the last 3 years, we have doubled the amount that we have provided to startups.” Banks are not rigid on a gender-basis or how long you have been trading for. It is important to understand the criteria that lenders and investors base their judgements on. Over the last 3 years, we have doubled the amount that we have provided to startups.’
- Have a framework that allows your company to grow
Sonya Iovieno, Silicon Valley Bank, ‘We have a framework that allows some sectors to grow and explore to a greater level than our European neighbours. There is a will from the government and the Bank of England to support that. Make sure you understand your sector and its supporters.’
- Do your research before going global
Rory Smith, Department of International Trade, ‘When companies think about growing, the number one thing to do is to do your research. Consider the market you want to go into, the culture and customs, your competitors, and the process. The most frequent reasons why companies are failing: lack of research, lack of human resources and wrong timing.’
Be sure to check our social media pages and website next week for recaps of each speaker and panel to obtain the necessary knowledge and resources that you need to scale up your business!
The event sponsors were NatWest, A City Law Firm, PwC and Spotcap.
Check our calendar to see what event is coming up next!
