Start up

Start up (18)

Illustration of people working on an airplane mid-flight, assembling it while flying — a metaphor for scaling a business while still building core systems and processes.

The Reality of Scaling Up a Company (Especially for First-Time Founders) 

Scaling a company is never as straightforward as the books or podcasts make it sound. Most founders know the theory, they studied business, read startup blogs, maybe even worked in high-growth companies before. But nothing truly prepares you for when you're the one sailing the boat. And even for experienced founders, the biggest constraint is often time. Time is always short, demands multiply fast: suddenly, you’re hiring 10 people within weeks, building processes on the fly, and realizing that what worked for five people breaks at 15, then again at 50 until the next inflection point.

Even with strong traction, the scale-up phase brings unfamiliar challenges. How do you grow your team without losing your early culture? How do you build internal structures without losing agility? How do you manage cashflow during rapid growth, where costs often rise faster than revenue?

These are not abstract concepts anymore. They are urgent, operational decisions with consequences.

VCs and advisors can offer valuable input, but when it comes to the day-to-day reality of scaling, it is rarely enough on its own. More often than not, founders find themselves navigating these challenges with limited support, learning by doing, under real pressure.

Scaling for the first time? It feels a lot like building a plane while flying it. And it can feel...lonely. 

In this article, I will unpack the most common pitfalls founders face when scaling, with a special focus on the unique realities of scaling in Germany. I will also share practical tips and concrete steps to help you scale your business more sustainably.

Banner Blog Post Iceventure: Managerial Challenges of Scaleups and Rapid Growth - A-Z Glossary

Scaling a startup is like raising a baby: exciting, rewarding, but then things could go sideways if you're not careful. It comes with a unique set of managerial challenges that can make or break success. According to the ESI Scaleup Monitor 2025, only 0.47% of European firms are categorized as scale-ups (younger companies achieving consistent hypergrowth of over 40% annually) highlighting just how challenging and demanding sustainable hypergrowth is.

Once you’ve nailed product–market fit, the next challenge kicks in: scaling rapidly, being prepared for it, and managing growth without losing focus or control. Most don’t succeed. What worked with a team of 10 starts to crumble at 30. Then again at 100. The Startup Genome Report shows that 74% of high-growth startups fail: not because of a bad idea, but because they scaled too early or managed it poorly.

Whether you're chasing Series B or building a sustainable B2B engine, scaling exposes hidden weaknesses: in leadership, revenue models, cost structures, internal systems, and organizational design. And often, you're discovering those cracks while moving at full speed.

This glossary highlights the most common growth pains companies face during scaling—one letter at a time—and offers practical steps founders and managers can take to navigate them and build for sustainable growth.

Scaling in Europe: Understanding the European Scaleup Ecosystem

In the previous entries in our Scaleups series, we explored a number of successful European scaleups and high-growth firms (HGFs), such as Alaiko, De Lift, and nCore. We explained three distinct scaleup profiles: Low Tech – Market Leader, Operational Model – Must Scale, and High Tech – Scale the Technology. Additionally, we examined the five main challenges of scaling a business—such as the do-it-all founder dilemma and managing operational processes during rapid growth—and provided actionable strategies to overcome them.

Today, we expand our focus to the broader European scaleup ecosystem, exploring its unique characteristics and challenges. Our aim is to deepen understanding of what sets Europe apart as a scaleup arena and to outline strategic approaches for navigating its complexities.


5 Main Challenges of Scaling Your Business and How to Overcome Them

5 main challenges of scaling your business and how to overcome them

Many startups aspire to scale, but scaling successfully is far from guaranteed. For those aiming to grow rapidly and capture market share, scaling brings opportunities — and significant challenges. Only 1 in 10 companies in Europe grow by more than 10% annually over three years. Even when growth happens, it brings new hurdles that test founders, teams, and systems.

While startups often focus on product-market fit and early traction, scaling requires a different mindset and structure. It impacts every aspect of a business — from leadership to processes, culture, and cash flow. Without the right strategies, rapid growth can overwhelm even the most promising company.

In this article, we outline five major challenges that founders face when scaling a business and share practical, proven actions to overcome them.

Blog Post on successful scaleups examples in Europe, such as Glovo, DeLift, nCore HR

Scaling a business from startup to scaleup is notably challenging, especially in the fragmented and diverse European market. Entrepreneurs often face hurdles such as market fragmentation, lack of regulatory harmonisation, funding limitations, and cultural and institutional challenges. Nonetheless, a notable number of European startups and SMEs have managed to not only survive but thrive, providing crucial insights into their paths of rapid growth.

In this article, we explore successful scaleup cases as highlighted by the European Scaleup Monitor 2023 and compare them with the most recent insights from the 2024 edition. We also integrate several insights from our own experiences and practice.

Is there a replicable formula for scaling success? What elements are essential to the elusive 'scaling DNA'? And how do specific market demands shape the scaling process?

Our goal is to uncover common patterns among these high-growth European firms, offering practical insights for managers and decision-makers to tackle their own growth challenges and seize new opportunities.

Yesterday the final announcement was made that Salesforce acquires Slack for 27bn USD. Marc Benioff is quoted to see "a marriage in heaven".

While the acquisition in my point of view is the best possible outcome for Slack, I have no longer an excuse to kick down the road this quick piece about Slack since long in the making. It addresses some key issues about the business model, the situation in the SaaS space and explains why an acquisition will be the best that can happen to Slack.

The case of Slack – worth a review for SaaS market and enterprise software observers

As the end of July always provided some quieter moments, even in time on Covid-19, I had the time to review some older client’s briefings and internal research papers. This brought a company on the desk again – Slack. When we discussed Slack the first time with clients, I got the question of why I was so picky on Slack with regard to the solution and the business model.

The particular reason is and was that Slack is the poster boy company for a number of trends in the SaaS space and in B2B software worthwhile discussing.

The overpromising solution

Discussing the case of Slack, one needs to remember the initial promise and context of the company. The problem to solve was bad email communication and replacing it with a much better tool for communication. This solution would be more efficient and time saving.
Context was the imminent success of social media networks and the strongly felt need to transfer the “new freedom of communication in the private to the enterprise space. Thus, it was a kind of consumer product for companies onboarding users for free. And it had the promise to be cooler than regular office tech for young professionals, mostly in the IT space.
In technology and consumer markets there is a golden rule – let users choose and follow. While this approach mostly right in most cases, Slack is a B2B product, not a consumer product.
Basically this context is the background for a number of really interesting stats and contradicting facts around Slack like a very loyal user base, low churn, but also slow Growth, slow adoption and monetization.

Overvalued with regard to the business case and its functionality

Therefore, the at the time verdict, like in July and today is – the solution and the company is

Die Rolle des Customer Success Managers in B2B (und nicht nur) SaaS ist in Deutschland/Europa immer noch eher unbekannt. Hier setzte der Vortrag, der rund um den Funnelblick, der Netzwerkverwaltung für SaaS Sales und Marketing in München also Outtake aus dem SaaS Seminar entstanden ist an. Unter dem Titel "Was macht der Customer Success Manager und

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Start-up Ökosysteme sind auch in der Wahrnehmung der breiten Öffentlichkeit angekommen. Dies ist ein wichtiger Schritt auf dem Weg der Entwicklung und ein wichtiger Moment für die Innovationskultur und Ökosystementwicklung in Deutschland/Europa, die ich bei Iceventure (und vorher in anderer Funktion) bereits seit über 10 Jahren begleite.

Doch für die weitere qualitative Entwicklung sind einige Punkte von Bedeutung, die neben den allgemeinen Themen wie z.B. Verfügbarkeit von VC oft nicht bekannt sind und diskutierte werden, da sie nur aus der längeren Perspektive wie z.B. in der Unternehmensberatung mit Historie in systemischen Projekten wahrgenommen werden.

Also ein guter Anlass diese in einem Interview mit Prof. Christian Lechner, Experte für Gründungsmanagement und Start-up Ökosysteme zu thematisieren. Dias auch um den nüchternen Blick der Forschung, geschärft durch konsolidiertes Wissen, für die vielen Diskussionen z.B. mit Kunden, die gerne etwas für das regionale Ökosystem tun möchten, aufzubereiten.

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Was bedeutet der Wunderkind –Exit?
Endlich ist es soweit. Berlin hat einen (weiteren) Exit und dann auch noch von einem der Berliner Vorzeigestart-ups Wunderlist. Dennoch waren die Reaktionen diverser Marktteilnehmer nicht nur positiv. Grund genug sich den Exit näher anzuschauen und ihn einzuordnen. Denn es gibt eine Reihe von Fragen: Warum jetzt? Wirklich ein guter Exit? Was bedeutet das für IT und SaaS-Firmen?

Exit 6Wunderkinder Wunderlist

Ein Punkt gleich vorneweg. Der Kauf durch Microsoft ist für das 6Wunderkinder Team und die Investoren ohne Zweifel ein großer Erfolg. Der Exit gibt dem Ökosystem in Berlin und Deutschland zusätzlich einen Schub und alleine deswegen ist er gut.

Folglich sind die in diesem Artikel dargelegten Punkte keine Kritik an 6Wunderkinder, sondern Reflektionen über Technologieentwicklung und (App-) Geschäftsmodelle, wie sie mit Wunderlist realisiert wurden.
Doch dazu zuerst die Fakten des Wunderlistkaufs, soweit sie in der Öffentlichkeit bekannt sind

Preis und Struktur des Wunderlist Deals

Wunderlist wurde von Microsoft für einen Kaufpreis von 100 bis 200 Mio. Dollar übernommen, was ca. 90 bis 180 Mio. Euro entspricht.
Über die genaue neue Eigentümerstruktur und die Anteile nach dem Exit ist in der Öffentlichkeit bis jetzt nichts bekannt. Es ist aber von einer 100% Übernahme auszugehen.

Digitalisierung und digitale „Disruption" ist heute in aller Munde. Dank Apps und Internet sehen sich auch alte und etablierte Märkte und Unternehmen neuen Wettbewerbern gegenüber, die plötzlich dank Innovation die Regeln des Angebots und des Marktes neu schreiben. Aber ist das wirklich so? Wie gelingt es den Start-ups das zu erreichen. Genau auf diese Fragen gibt das das Video (oder die einzelnen Teile der Serie) Antwort. Das Startup uber, das Geschäftsmodell und die Innovation werden in drei Teilen analysiert.

Uber Teil 1 - Die Bewertung, Marktvolumen aus VC -Sicht, die User Cases und das Pricing

Teil eins der Videoserie

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