The power of creating a symphony

We recently held one of our exclusive events that brings founders, CEO’s and members of the Prytek ecosystem together for knowledge sharing of business cases and successful strategies to create technology businesses of the future and to drive better business. During the event discussion, we got talking about Metapreneurs - a new level which stands between capital funds and companies, which we find in our structure, almost like a symphony where we orchestrate different musical parts to create a harmonious concert of companies. Each one of the companies are great but if you orchestrate one strategy looking at one level above, with the company CEO using capital to create the value chain, you are creating more value inside your capital allocation.

Another central talking point of the event, Arnon Shiboleth, Co-CEO, discussed the most important challenges in start-up lives, which is how to scale and manage a much larger company and obstacles that come with this transition. Many companies find that they can’t break the glass ceiling of being a small company. We looked at how to navigate company growth, looking at the infrastructure and various business models in addition to the importance of hiring people that can grow with you. In his presentation Arnon discussed the following main topics: 

Evolving Infrastructure

One of the biggest challenges that start-ups will come across whilst growing their company is scaling which amplifies everything – the weakness in the products, management team, control and systems. Inevitably, with growth comes teething pains, challenges and obstacles. In order to succeed, growth and scale are key. The most common mistake is not changing management and its structure as growth occurs or not changing the structure quick enough to match the growth of the business. Not planning financially for the scale or scaling too fast, are also often a common pitfall.

Your people are your greatest asset and you need the right people in place for every growth stage

Something that clearly stood out from all speakers throughout the event was the importance of people and the ability to change the management structure. Discussion around hiring people that can grow with your business and people that you are excited to work with and motivate you on a daily basis are crucial factors that contribute to success and growth of a company. Developing a leadership team with a clear vision of the market and having employees that will make that vision a reality.

Innovators vs Accelerators

Following on from this and delving deeper into the importance of having the right team, a key discussion point was the distinction and need for both innovators and accelerators working at your business. Whilst essential to have the creative employees that come up with the innovative ideas, at the growth stage it’s more important to have people who can take the ideas and make them happen – run the operations and accelerate those ideas to bring them to life. In order to successfully scale and grow your company, it’s crucial to have the right transition from the dreamers to the ones that execute on the plan. 

Plan, plan and plan some more!

A clear insight taken from the session is that when the business grows to a large scale, it is impossible to rely on intuition and memory and therefore data driven businesses are the way forward as it is the only way of communication and making decisions. Building systems in order to automate as much as possible is essential in supporting the ability to grow quickly and efficiently.

Another element of planning whilst growing your business is taking a product or solution that works well in one country/region and then adapting and tailoring to become global. Start with a variety of business models and look to build a scalable market. When scaling, it has to be a system that can fit various needs. In order to achieve this, the infrastructure must be reviewed and tailored to consider numerous aspects such as region, culture and target audience.

To summarise, this event drew upon some really interesting personal experiences and key things to look out for. Fundamental takeaways include:

• Build a clear vision and ensure everybody knows where the company is going with the mission and values at the forefront of your mind at all times
• You don’t see everything from above, learning from mistakes is invaluable
• Purpose led business making a generational impact is essential to manage organisations with hundreds or even thousands of employees
• Scale at the right pace to match your capabilities

Above all, the most important thing is to be humble so you can make changes constantly to fit the ever evolving reality.