Techblog
Startup 101: How SMEs can retain the best of startup culture
As businesses grow, companies should retain the elements of the firm's beginnings that have contributed to its success. In the last instalment of our Startup 101 series, we take a look at how SMEs can retain the best principles of startup culture.
In a competitive, technologically advanced business landscape such as Singapore, startups need to develop agility and a strong culture from the beginning in order to keep up with large corporations with more resources and market presence.
This means that startups need to be creative and innovative in order to meet market demands while keeping costs low. Successful startups usually develop agility and a strong culture from the beginning in order to conquer this initial phase of business.
If growth is the main objective in a startup - once achieved - the expansion of a small business could result in significant operational changes that might be better in some areas but weaker in others.
As businesses increase in size, less attention could be allocated to issues pertaining to staffing and cost saving policies. SMEs should recognise a few principles that can help to keep the startup culture constant, even in the face of big changes:
1. Hire to keep, not just to get the job done. Startups with little operating capital in the beginning often have very lean teams. This means that hiring decisions have to be made carefully to sieve out candidates that are not only suitable for the role, but who are also resilient and resourceful in their own right. As business volumes increase, resist hiring only somewhat suitable people just to get an extra pair of hands on board.
2. Maintain agility and make decisions fast. At the very beginning, employees are expected to have to adjust very quickly with fairly little knowledge. As processes get put into place to ensure quality and consistent delivery to clients and stakeholders however, it is important to maintain agility in order avoid too much extra time being taken operationally to turn around on task. SMEs should ensure that operations are as streamlined as possible so that business opportunities can be quickly seized.
3. Maintain inclusivity and encourage opinions. In growing companies, sometimes the gaps between management and non-management staff can wide as expansion occurs, and more departments and team develop. As the business matures, continue to foster closeness and encourage the sharing of opinions across all colleagues. Involving all staff in the company's progress helps to re-instill commitment in the company, and keeping a certain level of free expression helps the spreading of good ideas and makes employees feel more valued.
4. Spend money wisely. It is easy to keep a constant close eye on expenditure when purse strings are tight. But when profits are being made and the firm can afford more expensive purchases, look down a period of about 12 months when making big buying decisions. Ask questions like, "Will this purchase add significant value in a year's time?", "Will efficiency be cut down if a new system is introduced?" and "Are purchases reversible if it's been decided that it doesn’t work after all?"
In order to stay competitive, it is important for SMEs to constantly be able to learn the elements of its success in the past, and continually add value to the business by applying elements to future business landscapes.