How to evolve from startup to scaleup?

• The term scaleup is used to describe a company that has passed the initial phase of startup
• To achieve this, it is very common to resort to financing rounds and venture capital.

The entrepreneurship map positions the scaleups as a booming engine within our country. Based on the latest report The scaleup ecosystem in Spain, in 2022 they increased their turnover by 55%. Madrid accumulates 35.3% of scaleups, followed by Catalonia (28.6%).

Differences between startup and scaleup

The term scaleup is used to describe a company that has passed the initial phase of startup and has demonstrated the ability to grow significantly in terms of revenue, employees, and market presence. While one startup It is characterized by being in an early phase of development, the transition to a scaleup It involves a broader, sustained focus on growth as the company scales its operations.

If there is something that characterizes the scaleups It is its culture of continuous innovation. This involves pivoting new ideas, constantly updating the business model, adapting to trends and offering a highly valuable competitive advantage. With this breeding ground, Spain already has around 450 scaleups, according to the Startup Observatory of the Bankinter Innovation Foundation (2022).

Strategies to evolve scaleup

But the process of evolution of startup to scaleup It also requires capital injections from investors. To achieve this, it is very common to resort to financing rounds and venture capital. Weaving a solid network of investors and working on transparency and effective communication helps the company acquire a greater reputation in its consideration of scaleup.

Another aspect for this transition to occur is to have a presence in other markets. The internationalization process is key, taking into account which countries you can have a market niche that allows the success of the company.

The attraction of talent and a multidisciplinary team is another of the axes that define the scaleups. The report of Scaleup Spain Network places at scaleups Spanish companies as main levers in the creation of jobs. In 2021 alone they created 514,000 and according to their estimates, in 2022 it increased to 850,000 jobs (direct and indirect). Industry experts point out that in order to acquire the category of scaleup It is essential to have solid work team structures that allow for the necessary scalability.

Those predominate scaleups who carry out their activity in the sector fintech (15,1%), business & productivity (11,8%), mobility/logistics (10.9%) or health (10,1%).

The evolution of startup to scaleup It implies knowing how to place all the previously mentioned pieces: investment, business model, talent, team, etc. to be able to contribute to that transition. Spain is already positioning itself as one of the countries in which infections are proliferating the most. scaleup. The objective is that the business fabric of scaleups continue to rise and may even continue to evolve until achieving a long-term sustainable model.