3 tips from start-ups that successfully make it past the 3-year mark.
Did you know that only one start-up in two makes it past the 3-year mark? Let's look at the glass half full and ask what made those that succeed so successful. We have summarized the 3 best tips followed by thriving start-ups to steer their high-growth business. Follow the guide!
You run a start-up, a scale-up or, in other words, a high-growth company. You know the risks of failure. You got started knowing full well that few companies make it to their fifth birthday.
In reality, there are many levers you can pull to support your company's growth! And success stories do exist! Think of Exotec, Kazidomi, Qualifio, Baobab, eFarmz, … all well-known and highly regarded start-ups in their sectors. Want to join the ones that succeed? Take the leap with confidence using these 3 expert tips for steering your hypergrowth company.
Do you keep a close eye on your cash at all times? If your answer is no, it's time to go back to basics. Cash is a real issue in business management. Yet it is often overlooked by entrepreneurs.
"If you don't make the right decisions in this area, you can very quickly find yourself in serious financial difficulty," stresses Gregory Halibert, CFO of Youmanio, a company specializing in the digital transformation of the finance function.
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"Cash is tied to your business cycle, and you need to understand that cycle well," he adds. That means putting the right indicators in place with an appropriate reporting frequency.
"If you don't make the right decisions about cash, you can very quickly find yourself in serious financial difficulty"
Gregory Halibert, CFO of Youmanio
Have you ever wondered how much time you spend collecting, cleaning, formatting and preparing your data before you even get any value out of it? According to Global Strategy, these tasks actually account for 50 to 80% of experts' time. Now translate that time into financial cost. The numbers speak for themselves.
Choosing a reporting solution suited to your business will therefore save you time and money, and spare you unnecessary stress. EMASPHERE, the reporting platform for CFOs, is one of those solutions that help professionals save time and avoid errors.
Did you know?
1 in 2 finance professionals cite digitizing the process as a priority for financial reporting.
(Source: EMASPHERE webinar, "Start-ups: steer your hypergrowth!" )
Automation is also a key point for start-up reporting: why repeat the same manual tasks every month? Exotec, an EMASPHERE customer, has for example spoken about the importance of automating its reporting updates.
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In this guide, discover the KPIs every high-growth company should track to steer its growth!
Are you still using Excel as your reporting software, like more than one finance professional in two? If so, you are probably already aware of its limitations…:
So how do you know whether it's really time to stop using Excel? You should seriously consider it if your financial reporting needs are twofold:
You need a solution that simplifies reporting. Excel remains very powerful as a spreadsheet, but as your company grows and you have at least 4 to 5 levels of analysis, Excel will no longer be up to the task.
A company goes through several life cycles, as illustrated below.
The first stage is, of course, launching the business. It then becomes a growing start-up, and one day an SME. That SME may then turn into a company growing through acquisitions, before finally reaching mid-cap or group status.
Depending on which cycle your company is in at a given moment, you will have different levels of revenue, production and cash, and you will therefore face new needs.
In practice, your reporting needs will differ depending on whether your start-up is 3 months, 6 months or 12 months old. They will start with simple indicators that become more and more structured over time.
You therefore need a solution that lasts throughout your growth journey, so you don't have to switch every time a major change occurs (and there can be many). In short, a solution that can evolve with your company.
The sooner your company puts a suitable reporting solution in place, the sooner it takes control of its financial data.
Why? Because it allows you to become mature in terms of levels of analysis and how financial data is recorded. Every event in the life of the company will have a financial impact, so the sooner you take charge of reporting, the sooner you can keep it under control. It is therefore vital to have a clear view of your company's long-term vision: where do you want to take your start-up? For example, if you plan to build a group of companies, include the need for consolidated reporting with intercompany eliminations in your search criteria for a reporting solution.
You too deserve reliable, automatically updated reports. To join the community of 10,000+ companies that are already EMASPHERE customers, contact us.