The bumpy road to a successful scale-up: study of European scale-ups reveals 5 key challenges The widely held belief that European scale-ups are mainly innovative tech companies is incorrect; they can be found in all sectors and at all levels of innovation. However we can identify major differences between sectors in terms of size and growth, with scale-ups that are active in IT and consumer goods and services leading the way. Scale-ups with external investors on board are more professionally managed and have made greater progress in terms of internationalisation, innovation and talent management. All the same, attracting additional funding proves very difficult and hampers their further growth ambitions. These are some of the conclusions of the European Scale-Up Report, conducted by Vlerick Business School on behalf of Scale-Ups.eu. Read more
Can you attract resources before you’ve proved your worth? Yes, you can! Start-ups and young businesses aiming for growth need resources - funding, staff, material, customers and so on. But why would anyone provide resources to a small business that has nothing concrete to show for it yet? How can you convince others if you haven’t yet proved your worth? A study by Professor Sophie Manigart and her colleagues show that what are known as ‘soft signals’ can be very useful in this situation. Read more