Latest news with #scaling
Entrepreneur
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Entrepreneur
What Winning Companies Get Right
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. You're reading Entrepreneur United Kingdom, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. Kevin Gaskell doesn't just talk about scaling success- he's done it at some of the world's most iconic brands. As the former CEO of Porsche, Lamborghini, and BMW, Gaskell has led legendary turnarounds, built high-performance cultures, and driven exponential growth. Now an active investor and founder - including in the UK's fastest-growing B2B fibre network - he's crystal clear on what it takes to scale without slipping. "Scaling a business without compromising quality requires a clear vision, disciplined execution, and an unwavering focus on culture and customer experience," he says. And in a world obsessed with speed, Gaskell offers something far more valuable: a blueprint for building greatness that lasts. From luxury car giants to high-growth tech infrastructure, Gaskell's approach is rooted in strategy that works - because he's applied it at the sharp end. "Throughout my career - leading Porsche GB back to profitability, driving BMW GB to record growth, and scaling multiple successful ventures - I've applied core strategies that deliver sustainable expansion." Strategies for efficient scaling Behind Gaskell's success lies a balancing act: innovation without chaos, structure without stagnation. "The key is balancing innovation with operational excellence," he says. At Porsche, this meant total organisational alignment. "We transformed performance by aligning the entire organisation around a common goal: customer satisfaction." That wasn't just a slogan. It translated into real systems. "We implemented structured processes to ensure efficiency, leveraged technology for data-driven decision-making, and developed scalable frameworks to maintain consistency across markets. Investing in leadership development was crucial because strong leadership ensures quality at scale." Culture as a competitive weapon Gaskell is clear that culture isn't a 'nice-to-have' - it's foundational. "Culture is the foundation of a successful organisation," he states. At BMW, that meant codifying values into the fabric of the business. "We fostered a high-performance culture by embedding shared values across teams. We encouraged transparency, rewarded innovation, and built a leadership pipeline that aligned with our core principles." Culture, Gaskell warns, must be managed - not assumed. "In a business transition, culture must be actively managed. Clear communication, employee empowerment, and leading by example are essential to maintaining alignment." Related: The Power of Slow Scaling The challenge of complexity As companies grow, so do their problems. Gaskell knows this firsthand. "One of the toughest challenges is maintaining agility as complexity increases," he says. "Expanding a business means more processes, more stakeholders, and higher expectations." At Porsche, growth came with a reputation to rebuild. "A critical challenge was rebuilding trust in the brand while growing operations. We tackled this by prioritising operational efficiency, refining our supply chain, and ensuring quality was non-negotiable in every aspect of the business." Customers first, always For Gaskell, scale without customer loyalty is a hollow victory. "Scaling is pointless without a loyal customer base," he says. "A brand must remain relevant and consistently exceed expectations." His teams invested in innovation that mattered - customer-led, not tech-for-tech's-sake. "We focused on customer-centric innovation - whether through product enhancements, superior service, or tailored experiences." At BMW, those insights were gold dust. "Customer insights drove strategic decisions, allowing us to personalise engagement and build long-term loyalty while expanding into new markets." Advice for founders ready to scale If you're building something big, Gaskell's advice is sharp, simple, and earned through hard experience. "Clarity of vision, relentless execution, and adaptability are paramount," he advises. "Define what sets your business apart, ensure your team is aligned, and stay close to your customers. Leverage technology, be disciplined about financial management, and never compromise on quality. Growth must be sustainable - short-term gains mean nothing if long-term viability is at risk." Gaskell doesn't shy away from the reality of scaling internationally in a post-Brexit world. "Trade policies can either open doors or create barriers," he says. "Navigating Brexit's complexities required agility in supply chain management, regulatory compliance, and market positioning." His recommendation for global-facing businesses? Think long and wide. "Businesses expanding internationally must stay ahead of policy shifts, establish strong local partnerships, and diversify risk across multiple regions. Flexibility and strategic foresight are essential to successful global expansion." The final word From restoring icons to reshaping industries, Gaskell's career has been a masterclass in growth with discipline, leadership with clarity, and ambition with purpose. His philosophy, forged at the highest levels of business, is as relevant to startups as it is to global giants: "Scaling is an art and a science - focus on excellence, build great teams, and never lose sight of what makes your brand exceptional." Related: Scaling Secrets
TechCrunch
23-05-2025
- Business
- TechCrunch
Iliana Quinonez of Google Cloud on scaling AI startups at Sessions: AI
In the startup world, access to cutting-edge tools isn't the biggest obstacle — it's knowing how to wield them with precision. At TechCrunch Sessions: AI, taking place on June 5 at UC Berkeley's Zellerbach Hall, we're digging into the frameworks and decisions that determine whether an AI startup can scale — or stall. We're excited to welcome one of the most tactical voices in that conversation: Iliana Quinonez, Director of North America Startups Customer Engineering at Google Cloud. Impactful conversations are better shared — get up to $300 off your pass and 50% off a guest ticket. Register now to lock in this limited-time deal and secure your seat for pioneer-led discussions like this one. Scaling AI startups: Quinonez's tactical approach Quinonez leads a technical team that partners with high-potential startups across the U.S. and Canada, offering hands-on support as they integrate Google Cloud and AI tools from pre-seed through IPO. Her approach is deeply technical and grounded in the realities of startup velocity — she knows time, capital, and clarity are in short supply — and she helps founders maximize all three. Startups building with AI agents today face a layered set of questions. What's the right architecture for scaling intelligent behavior? How do you structure data pipelines to train agents that don't just react but reason? Where do APIs end and core IP begin? Quinonez will tackle these questions head-on in a session designed to help founders cut through noise and make defensible decisions about infrastructure, model orchestration, and collaboration. What sets Quinonez apart is her range. With over two decades of leadership experience at Salesforce, SAP, and BEA Systems, she's helped both enterprise giants and early-stage startups map product ambition to practical execution. Her team also partners closely with accelerators, VCs, and developer ecosystems — giving her a panoramic view of what's working in AI … and what's not. Expect a clear-eyed discussion on the risks and rewards of building with AI agents, the tools startups are relying on, and what it really takes to democratize access to advanced machine learning — without compromising on speed or security. Get the edge: Low rate locked, AI wisdom unlocked This is just one of many conversations happening at TC Sessions: AI — where the focus isn't just on the future of AI, but also on how to build it right now. You'll hear from leaders at OpenAI, Anthropic, Cohere, and Google Cloud, in sessions that span everything from foundational model strategy to data stack design. Techcrunch event Join us at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot for our leading AI industry event with speakers from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Cohere. For a limited time, tickets are just $292 for an entire day of expert talks, workshops, and potent networking. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you've built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | REGISTER NOW If you're building in this space — or planning to — you won't want to miss it. Tickets are currently $300+ off, and for a limited time, you can get 50% off a second one. Bring your co-founder, your head of product, or your favorite skeptic. Register your ticket today. AI is moving fast. Founders need to move faster.
TechCrunch
20-05-2025
- Business
- TechCrunch
Rob Biederman join the stage at All Stage 2025
If you're a founder looking to grow your startup, chances are you're wrestling with more than just product or capital. Talent, scale, and smart execution are the real battlegrounds. That's exactly what TechCrunch All Stage 2025 is built to address on July 15 at Boston's SoWa Power Station. Rob Biederman, managing partner at Asymmetric Capital Partners and one of the sharpest minds in talent, tech, and scaling strategy, will share his insights in a roundtable session. This is THE place where you can ask him directly what it takes to scale. See many more top startup leaders taking the stage to share honest insights, hands-on strategies, and lessons learned in the trenches. Early Bird pricing is still available for TC All Stage, with Founder passes discounted at $210, Investor passes are available at a $200 discount, and students get a chance to attend for just $99. Check out the best option for you and your team right here to learn how to secure VC funding, recruit the right early hires, manage founder finances, navigate the messy middle of growth at all stages of scaling, and more. What Biederman brings to TechCrunch All Stage Simply put, he's built solutions where most startups get stuck and is set on sharing those fixes to those in need. Before launching Asymmetric, Biederman co-founded Catalant Technologies, where he spent eight years as co-CEO, turning the company into the market leader for on-demand, high-skill talent. Today, Catalant powers how major companies deploy workforces, connecting them with more than 70,000 consultants and 1,000 boutique firms. He now serves as chairman of Catalant, is the co-author of 'Reimagining Work,' and teaches scaling technology ventures at Harvard Business School, where he's an executive fellow. In short, Biederman doesn't just talk about scale — he teaches it, builds it, and funds it. Techcrunch event Join us at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot for our leading AI industry event with speakers from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Cohere. For a limited time, tickets are just $292 for an entire day of expert talks, workshops, and potent networking. Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI Secure your spot at TC Sessions: AI and show 1,200+ decision-makers what you've built — without the big spend. Available through May 9 or while tables last. Berkeley, CA | REGISTER NOW With a background that includes private equity at Goldman Sachs and Bain Capital, and a Harvard MBA earned with Baker Scholar honors, Biederman brings both operational experience and investment discipline to every conversation. At TC All Stage, Biederman will break down what most founders overlook when it comes to scaling: how to evolve your thinking about talent, execution, and long-term growth. Join the event where founders go to grow TC All Stage isn't just another startup conference — it's a strategy session for people building real companies. You'll walk away with tools, frameworks, and stories from top operators who've scaled beyond the early-stage maze. And Biederman's insights on hiring, leadership, and operational leverage could easily reshape how you think about growth. Join us in Boston on July 15 TC All Stage tickets at these low rates are going fast, and there is limited seating available in the sessions, so it's time to get your ticket now and be in the room where seeds can scale and startups go IPO.
Fast Company
16-05-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
Why scaling a business is the hardest—and most important—stage of growth
Starting a business is undeniably complex. I've done it three times, and now I'm working on growing a business for a fourth time. It hasn't gotten any easier. It takes bold vision, relentless effort, and often limited resources to transform an idea into reality. It also takes keen foresight beyond the start-up phase. Starting from nothing is hard work, and the harsh truth is that many businesses never leave the start-up phase. They collapse due to insufficient capital, poor planning, or an inability to gain traction with their product or service. They never even get a chance to scale. But if you are fortunate enough to sustain your business, the real work begins when you take things to the next level. Starting a business is one thing, but when you're no longer a scrappy start-up and you're a proven business, the most challenging phase of all is scaling. Yes, it can be fun. Rapid growth can be intoxicating. But your business becomes fragile without scalable systems, a strong culture, and a team that's prepared for growth. You can't afford to treat scaling like a reward, and you can't afford to think like a start-up. It's a uniquely different challenge. In his seminal book Smart Scaling: Leadership Principles for Scaling Success, CEO Robert Anderson, Jr. explains, 'Scaling is not just about growing revenue, increasing sales, or finding more customers. It's about preparing yourself and your company internally. When growth outpaces infrastructure, things break.' The problem is that processes can fail, communication gaps widen, and teams burn out. What begins as an exciting growth surge often spirals into chaos, leaving leaders scrambling to solve problems they never saw coming. That's because too many business leaders view scaling as a trophy for making it this far instead of what it truly is: a process that must be planned, led, and managed, and not just at the top line. Smart scaling is about preparing and planning your business at every level. BUILD SYSTEMS THAT WORK AT 10X CAPACITY WITHOUT BREAKING Before you scale, it's important to recognize that most of your systems are designed for current needs, not future demands. When growth comes quickly, those systems—whether related to operations, technology, or customer service—tend to break under pressure. Smart scaling requires proactively building infrastructure that can handle more volume. It might mean investing in automation, refining processes, or designing workflows that won't crumble when business suddenly doubles. DEVELOP A CULTURE THAT THRIVES UNDER CHANGE, NOT JUST SURVIVES IT Culture is often described as 'how we do things around here.' But if your culture isn't adaptive, growth will expose its weaknesses. A start-up culture can be very different than a scaling culture. You'll want a team that sees change not as a threat, but as an opportunity to learn and improve. It's critically important to prepare your team internally for change, and to make sure they're equipped to deal with it. EQUIP YOUR PEOPLE TO HANDLE COMPLEXITY WITHOUT BURNING OUT As a company scales, so does the complexity of every role. Responsibilities increase, decisions become weightier, and ambiguity often grows. Without the right training and support, your people may hit a wall. Equipping your team means developing their skills, investing in leadership development, and giving them the tools and clarity they need to succeed in a more demanding environment. It often also involves hiring more staff, which in itself is challenging. Again, intentional preparation is key. Don't wait until after you begin to scale to plan. You don't need to scale for the sake of scale. But to future-proof your business, you must scale with purpose. Otherwise, you risk stagnation or even disaster. Eventually, almost every business begins to crumble—not because it wasn't great, but because it wasn't built to grow. So, if you're a founder, CEO, or executive, ask yourself: Am I building something that can grow sustainably? Are my people, systems, and culture prepared for the next level? Do I have the leadership muscle to grow without breaking? Before taking the leap, take some time to think about and discuss with your team what it may take to scale.
Entrepreneur
15-05-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Why Skills Alone Aren't Enough to Build a Strong Team
Discover why a mindset of ownership is the real differentiator for scaling startups and engineering teams. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. In the world of fast-growing tech companies, hiring tends to follow a predictable pattern. Leaders look for engineers fluent in the latest frameworks, product managers with impressive resumes, and marketers who know their way around every analytics dashboard. Skills are quantifiable. They are testable. And in high-growth environments where speed is currency, it is tempting to optimize your hiring process around hard qualifications. But here is the trap: A team stacked with talent but lacking ownership will never scale effectively. Over the years, we've seen companies across a wide range of industries thrive by tapping into nearshore talent from Latin America. While technical skills certainly played a role in their success, one quality consistently stood out above the rest: a strong sense of ownership. It wasn't just what these professionals could do — it was how deeply they cared about the outcomes. Related: 4 Ways You Can Create a Culture of Ownership What is ownership mindset, really? Ownership mindset is more than just accountability. It is a proactive, results-driven approach where team members take initiative, act in the best interest of the business and treat challenges as their own to solve. It is the difference between someone who says, "That is not my job," and someone who says, "I will figure this out." We define it as a blend of initiative, responsibility, problem-solving and alignment with outcomes. People with an ownership mindset do not just check boxes. They drive progress. And in today's decentralized, remote-first world, that mindset has become the number one indicator of long-term team success. Why skills alone are not enough Technical skills evolve quickly. What is cutting-edge today could be obsolete in a year. While foundational knowledge matters, the reality is that most great developers are constantly learning. But no amount of knowledge will help if someone lacks the drive to apply it effectively, the judgment to prioritize the right problems or the resilience to work through ambiguity. We have seen companies hire incredibly skilled developers who could not operate autonomously. They waited for instructions. They did not raise red flags. And when problems emerged, they lacked the sense of urgency to act. That is not a skills issue. It is a mindset issue. Ownership mindset drives better business outcomes At ParallelStaff, when we place developers, we vet for more than just technical capabilities. We look for people who ask the hard questions during interviews. Those who take pride in the products they have built. Those who view the success of the client's mission as their own responsibility. Those developers consistently: Proactively solve problems instead of escalating them Communicate clearly and consistently, even under pressure Identify improvements and inefficiencies without being asked Go beyond task completion to drive project success This is particularly powerful in remote and distributed teams, where autonomy and self-leadership are non-negotiable. If you are building a team across time zones or continents, you need people who will move things forward, not wait for permission. In fact, many of our clients who build dedicated teams with us say the same thing: "Your developers feel like part of our company, not just vendors." That is the byproduct of hiring people with ownership built into their mindset. Related: How to Get Your Employees to Take Ownership Hiring for ownership starts with values At ParallelStaff, we center our culture on five core values: Excellence, Efficiency, Integrity, Growth Mindset and Ownership. These are not just words on a website. They shape how we vet candidates, how we coach developers and how we deliver to clients. Our vetting process goes beyond code tests. We simulate real-world project scenarios. We assess communication under pressure. We look at how candidates handle change and ambiguity. Ownership shows up in the gray areas: when requirements shift, timelines compress, and stakes are high. When you hire for ownership, you are not just filling roles. You are building a culture — one where people think like founders, lead without titles and care deeply about the outcome. How to identify ownership during hiring Hiring for ownership takes intentionality. Here are a few strategies we use and that you can apply, too: Ask behavioral questions focused on outcomes: "Tell me about a time you took initiative on a project without being asked." Test for decision-making, not just delivery: Present candidates with scenarios where they need to prioritize, push back or propose alternatives. Watch how they speak about past teams and projects: People who take ownership will talk about we, our users and the results. Not just what they were told to do. Look for learning agility: Ownership-driven people do not wait to be taught. They go figure it out. Do not overlook red flags: If someone blames others or needs constant direction, that is a long-term cost. Cultural fit: The force multiplier When you build remote teams with cultural alignment, things just work better. Meetings are more productive. Trust builds faster. Collaboration scales. And your team does not just execute. They evolve together. That is why companies that prioritize ownership in hiring often see: Faster ramp-up times Lower turnover Higher NPS scores internally and externally A stronger culture of accountability Related: What to Consider When Hiring Employees Ownership is not something you can train overnight. It is something you find, reward and reinforce. Hiring for skills gets you workers. Hiring for ownership gets you builders. The best teams are not just technically competent. They are mission-driven. They care. They push. And they do not need to be micromanaged because they manage themselves. At ParallelStaff, we believe ownership is the single most underrated trait in scaling technology teams. It is how we help clients move faster, build smarter and grow sustainably. If you are scaling your engineering team and want to avoid the common traps of traditional outsourcing, start by prioritizing mindset. Your future self and your customers will thank you.
