‘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.’

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