Professor of Entrepreneurship
What defines a scale-up? In the media, we often see the same group of usual suspects popping up: young and famous tech companies. They are typically the ones put in the spotlight – and, more often than not, in the context of big fundraising rounds. Governments, too, like to showcase them as perfect examples of entrepreneurial excellence. But have you ever heard of Arjessa, a Finnish company offering family and childcare services? Or Xenos, a Greek chain of boutique, luxury hotels founded in 1982? Or Hoorcentrum Aerts, a Belgian chain of hearing aid stores? These are scale-ups too.
If we want to talk about scale-ups, we first need to reach a joint understanding. Scale-ups are often equated with high-growth firms, which – according to the OECD – are companies:
What is the problem? Our vision on scale-ups is too narrow. In recent years, the debate has advanced, so we’ve come to understand that scaling is about more than just high growth. Scale-ups come in many different shades of grey – in terms of industry as well as activities, innovativeness and age. The media and other institutions tend to underexpose the broader picture – resulting in a one-sided public opinion.
In this white paper, we pick apart nine recurring myths – and prove that scaling is much broader than what many of us might have imagined.