'The challenges associated with scaling up are the same in every sector'

About Clouds of Care

• Founded in 2016 as a spin-off of imec, Ghent University and UAntwerp
• Working on the development of a platform that contributes to more effective medication for neurological disorders through data aggregation.
• 40 employees

Why did you choose the Scale-Up Masterclass?

“Clouds of Care originally focused on epilepsy. We developed software that maps the brain activity of patients in detail, for applications in healthcare but also for data analysis in clinical studies. Our operation was that of a typical start-up: going from project to project, looking for the fastest way from A to B and pulling out all the stops to make the customer happy. In the short term, this approach actually works very well. But we soon realised that it would be better to build a platform that could be used for a wider range of neurological disorders. Because we can reuse this kind of platform, it would work out better in the long term. This kind of step naturally involves a lot of challenges: product and platform development, the expansion of a multidisciplinary team of experts and the need to tackle everything in a more structured way. In the spring of 2024, our business plan was ready, and an investment round was underway. The Scale-Up Masterclass came along at the right time: academically relevant knowledge that backed up my gut feeling and a sounding board of like-minded people.”

What are the most important insights you gained from the programme? How do they answer the challenges you face with your business?

“After the first day, it became apparent that the participants had very diverse backgrounds. I was worried that I might lose out because not many people were active in the same sector, but that fear turned out to be unjustified. The challenges associated with scaling up are the same in every sector. In fact, the various perspectives of the participants and teachers encouraged me to look at things from a different angle. Because we were in the middle of restructuring and consolidation, this sounding board proved very valuable. It helped me to confirm some of my decisions, and I adjusted others accordingly. ”

“The most important insight of the masterclass, and this may sound a little vague, was the realisation that people and culture really do form the basis of a successful scale-up story. As a start-up, you work in close collaboration with a small group of super-motivated people. Everyone is automatically on the same page. But then, if you bring together a large group of intelligent individuals, present them with a vision and expect everything to remain the same, it just doesn’t work. Ideally, this vision and the path to achieving it would emerge organically from your company culture. This requires active efforts.”

How did you put this insight into practice?

“Because we were working on our restructuring and consolidation, we could really incorporate this insight into the strategic plan. During the expansion of the team, for example, we focused on supporting functions such as a highly experienced HR manager. We worked with her to set up a comprehensive roadmap, with people and culture as a guideline. It’s all about the little things, such as an HR newsletter, as well as bigger issues like a new organisational structure with a clear role description, salary benchmarking, a strong focus on team feedback and the most transparent communication possible.”

What is the impact of these actions within your company?

“Our investment round is now over, and our team has expanded from 25 to more than 40 people in just a few months. Although we are still building our team and working on our goals, we have already grown enormously as a company. The Scale-Up Masterclass helped us to achieve this. Not necessarily because of highly innovative insights, since I had already read a lot of what we discussed somewhere else or picked it up intuitively. But the masterclass did provide the tools, mindsets and, above all, the sounding board needed to put them into practice with greater certainty and to take confident steps. You can get there with trial and error too, but why do that when you can also draw on the knowledge and experience of others?”