3 Challenges That Growth Stage Startups Face

Today I want to talk about the 3 biggest challenges which I face.

Team

If you have reached where you are (growth stage with a proper business model and few years of balance sheet), you now know why investors ask for the ‘management team’ slide in investors deck!

Team. Noo No. Good Team. No. Great Team, will define if your company will ever reach 100 Cr! And this I’m telling from the eye of a tornado. For me the biggest challenge has been to put the right photo in the frame of About Us section! We are growing at an exponential pace with tons of new things happening at every nook & corner of our office . Getting the right guy for each profile is what me and my HR are fighting for as of now. As you grow to some scale, you start realising that your 48 hours a day won’t reach you to the destination . We are 110+ right now & We need great people to join us to grow the business & the vision to change the way how this industry works!

Balancing Growth & Cash flows

This especially holds for non funded entrepreneurs! (Though with recent development this year, it would hold universally). You got to learn how to balance the growth & money kept in your account. There is a higher chance of you going bust either way. Very aggressive plans with not much fuel will lead to bankruptcy & working capital shrinkage. Also, when you are running faster, you miss the unit economics sometime & in today’s scenario without that no one giving you any money, Honey!

Too little growth will give ample space for competition to outgrow you very fast. Also, without (min 3 digit) growth at your base, no one is interested & your startup is not going anywhere in long run. So, the right balance has to stuck. I have seen many entrepreneurs been influenced by investors & outside party who know shit about your startup. Please listen to your core team & your gut to take such decisions. Sometimes they might be non-rational decisions, but you got to believe in them & go for that with pure passion & 101% dedication.

YOU

YES. You are the biggest asset & need for your startup! You got to continuously upgrade your skill sets to manage the show. At this stage your company survival depends on is if you are a great Leader or not ! For me, this has come out to be a great pressure & challenge especially in the current time of so many quick innovations & changes. I feel like the circus master who juggles various bottles in the air. Managing expectations of employees to your health to your family, all of them are important elements of your life. The amount of stress which an entrepreneur goes is totally abnormal these days & its ok for so many people to give up. But if you got to survive this stage & go to the next level, you got to be sane & be mentally fit ! Find a hobby to destress. Take out time for your family & yourself.

These are the TOP 3 challenges in today’s time which I can forsee. For every startup these can be different & in different priority. I am continuing my journey & wish you all the very best. Keep moving .. Keep Denting..Onwards & upwards !

The quote below is dedicated to all entrepreneurs who are trying. Keep Trying. Nothing is Impossible!