Learnings from Scaling” imparted the wisdom that great success is within reach if a Startup plans to scale. When the prototype is complete, and the value of the product has been demonstrated to a few customer prospects, it is also the right time to think through scale and more importantly, prepare for it. Key takeaways - 1. Say 'No' more often than “Yes” to keep razor focus 2. Develop a work culture that fosters execution 3. Set aggressive goals, however, be in touch with market forces and rally teams to achieve them 4. Create good process and a flexible organization rather than rely on ad-hoc measures 5. Identify star performers and reward with prominence rather than monetary benefits.

1. 7 mantras to scaling your business
Gunaseelan R,
Founder – Stealth mode startup.
Aug 23, 2014, Bangalore.

2. Different stages of a startup lifecycle 2
We will focus on these three stages today

3. 7 mantras to scaling your business 3
1. Strategic Focus.
2. Streamline & achieve efficiency in Business Operations.
3. Evolve your Organization Structure to suit dynamic needs of the market and your business.
4. Decentralize & Empower your regions.
5. Think Big & Set Aggressive goals.
6. Identify your hidden gems, Stay connected & make them feel important.
7. Grow to be a Strategic Partner to your customers.

4. Strategic Focus 4
You cant be everything to everyone. Focus on a few
large opportunities and make it BIG. Don’t spread
yourself thin. Focus is required when it comes to
Products, Markets and certain Revenue opportunities.
From time to time you will have to say ‘No’ to certain
opportunities. Even if its a sizable opportunity
within a specific market but not a scalable one you
should let it go.

5. Run cross-functional projects to fix key issues in customer delivery. It is these projects that
will help you define/stream line your process, productize repeatable activities to make it
scalable, help structure your organization right and above all help identify your hidden gems
(high impact employees).
Streamline & achieve efficiency in business operations

6. Select best practices in Business Operations
1. Cross-functional alignment is the key to customer delivery.
a. Have a war room for key projects.
b. Create a email alias with all key stakeholders part of it.
c. Have a clear project plan with the 3Ws (What? Who? And When?) defined.
d. Communicate, Communicate & Communicate.
This helps build positivity and momentum once stake holders start seeing the results of
their efforts.
2. Incentivize the stake holders right to scale the business. There is no point in
complaining about customer churn if your sales team is incentivized on just overall revenue goals
and not the quality of revenue they bring in.
3. Share best practices with the regions regularly. Cross pollination helps and opens
the eyes of the regional teams to new opportunities.
4. Run Programs around key themes – Helps get the attention of all stakeholders and
aligns them to the common goal. Say Project 100k to scale user traffic from 10,000 to 100,000 in
100 days.

7. For an Org Structure to be effective, it is important that
the resources are aligned across the Org enabling the
business unit owners to run their own P&L.
A horizontal flat structure woks well for start ups.
Helps you stay nimble and connected with most
employees. Leaders can leverage ‘MBWA’ to connect
with the employees at large. A daily 30 minute walk
across the office floors with just even a casual chat on a
general topic will do a world of good in increasing the
connect with your employees and retain them.
Continue to evolve your organization structure to meet the dynamic
needs of the market and business

8. Decentralize & Empower your regional teams
You cant do the heavy lifting from your Corporate
office. As the business grows, it is important that the
Corporate teams move to a support role and focus on
building the required resources (frameworks, policies,
process, tools,
programs & training) to make it truly scalable.

9. Think Big! Set aggressive goals!
Surprise yourself with aggressive goals!
In the growth stage, if the market growth is crazy you should
gun for a bigger target, you will be surprised by the results.
There is no fun in growing at 15% when the Industry itself is
growing at 75%.

10. A typical hidden gem in an Operations role.
Passionate
Team Player
‘Whatever it takes’ attitude
Ability to see beyond the obvious
Strong Customer Focus
Has a good understanding of both the
Products & business side.
Leverage vertical & horizontal growth (cross functional) opportunities to retain
your hidden gems. Build a career path for them.
Identify your hidden gems, Stay connected and make them feel important.

11. Grow to become a Strategic Partner for your key
customers 11
You will be seen as a strategic partner largely when your
contribution to the customer’s topline revenues is in double digits.
Have a Strategic Account Framework to scale your key
accounts to become Strategic Partners.
Your business will grow with your Strategic Partners!

12. Strategic Accounts Framework 12
§ N
§ O
§ P
§ Q
Seed (<$5K per day) Grow ($5k – $10K/ day) Partner (> $10K / day)
EMEA
JAPAC
NA
§ G § A
§ R
§ S
§ T
§ H
§ I
§ B
§ C
§ D
§ E
§ U
§ V
§ W
§ X
§ Y
§ J
§ K
§ F
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
25
24
23
22
21
20
19
18
17
16
15
14
§ Z
§ B27
26

13. 7 mantras to scaling your business 13
1. Strategic Focus.
2. Streamline & achieve efficiency in Business Operations.
3. Evolve your Organization Structure to suit dynamic needs of the market and your business.
4. Decentralize & Empower your regions.
5. Think Big & Set Aggressive goals.
6. Identify your hidden gems, Stay connected & make them feel important.
7. Grow to be a Strategic Partner to your customers.

14. Thank You!
14