What is a scale up

‘As the term implies, a scale-up is a start-up that has grown, that has changed scale. To move to this next stage, the start-up must have succeeded in stabilising its business model and industrialising its offer. It has therefore proven its viability.

To qualify as a scale-up, it must meet certain criteria that have become the norm. The first of these concerns annual growth. A scale-up must register a team growth of more than 20% per year, with at least 10 employees on permanent contracts. In terms of turnover, a scale-up is expected to generate between $1 million and $3 million. It must also have already raised at least $1 million. Once it has reached these milestones, it is no longer in the start-up phase or in a situation of extreme uncertainty, as described by Eric Ries.

Simply put, a scale-up is nothing other than a successful start-up. Since it will not remain a start-up indefinitely, a young company’s prospects are limited. It will either:

  • Go bankrupt
  • Complete an exit and/or merge with a large group or a scale-up
  • Become a scale-up

A scale-up generally aims to continue its development and expand its market, notably by having strong international ambitions.’

If you’d like to learn more about how we support top teams to scale up for growth, reach out for a no obligation call today: enquiry@hewlettrand.com

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