‘Scale-ups’ face many high-growth challenges. One of the biggest is hiring and retaining top talent. Among the top talent needed for successfully managing a high-growth journey is a strong chief financial officer (CFO). This is why, on the board, we regularly discuss what to look for in a (new) CFO. Usually, these discussions end up with something like we need a 'strategic and commercial' CFO. But what does this actually mean? How should one assess whether a CFO can drive growth successfully.

Irrespective of the business model you pursue, you have two very important high growth levers: efficient customer acquisition and strong customer retention. Conducting a thorough cohort analysis process can help you achieve both and ignite explosive sustainable growth. In this article, I explain why and how.

Founders often underestimate the complexity that comes with (additionally) targeting the long tail of small business customers. While there are very often many small business customers, their willingness to pay is likewise often significantly reduced. Their needs may differ too. And most of the times, small business customers can only be acquired through different channels. In this article, we explain how to sell to the long tail of small business customers.

My book FastScaling has been launched successfully. I am now offering a limited number of workshops. In the workshop, you and your chosen key employees will learn how you can successfully apply the FastScaling methodology at your company in order to generate sustainable high growth and a massive valuation. We will also discuss other potential growth strategies you could pursue. But most importantly, we will reflect on specific growth topics that you would like to talk about in more depth.

The unit economics concept is a powerful tool that helps you better understand whether you pursue a viable business model. By deconstructing the unit economics and focusing on improving all underlying variables, you can also steer your business towards high growth readiness. Have the patience to develop strong unit economics. It will eventually pay off and pave the path to sustainable high growth.

A relentless focus on customer success usually leads to strong unit economics, a shorter payback period and high and very efficient growth. But customer success needs to be more than lip service. Walk the talk!

If you want to work successfully with channel partners, you need to understand why they could be interested in helping you distribute your products. They will be interested if they see significant value for themselves in working with you. Otherwise, they will not care at all. That’s business.

Many founders believe their target market is larger than it actually is. Thoroughly analyze the size of your target market. Make sure it is large enough and that market dynamics support your high growth plan.

Founders who have just raised growth capital understandably want to demonstrate they can significantly grow their businesses. But some founders lose focus. Instead of scaling the existing business and adding a growth channel, a key target customer segment, or a new target market, they want to achieve everything at the same time. The corresponding complexity is a growth killer.

70% of all startups fail because of premature scaling. Startups that scale properly grow about 20 times faster than startups that scaled prematurely. Until you reach the strategic inflection point where you need to prioritize speed over efficiency, you can avoid any form of premature scaling. You can FastScale.