THE PATH TO SCALE

&the 12 DISCIPLINES of 10X ENTREPRENEURS

www.10X-e.com

Promised

Land

A common pattern in growing ventures…

Start-up Stage 1 Growth Stage 2 Growth

No Man’s Land

Set-backs StuckProgress

What No

Man’s Land

looks (and

feels) likeTight

Cash flow

Can’t afford experienced

talent

Stretched too thin

Big mistakes –crisis after

crisis

Bad margins, poor cash

flow

Can’t raise capital on

good terms

~70-80%

What %?

Start-up Stage 1 Growth Stage 2 Growth

No Man’s Land

Promised

Land

EVERYTHING changes when you scale

Start-up Stage 1 Growth Stage 2 Growth

No Man’s Land

Set-backs StuckProgress

‘THE GOAL’ & ‘THE WORK’

SIZE & TYPE OF ORG.

CULTURE

MGMT SKILLS REQ’D

COST STRUCTURE

PRICE POINT

MARKET SEGMENTS, STRATEGY

The issue: Each new stage requires a different blend of

priorities, and approach to leadership

Promised

Land

Start-up Stage 1 Growth Stage 2 Growth

No Man’s Land

Set-backs StuckProgress

Entrepreneurial leadership(See & seize mkt opportunity, get 1st customers)

Enterprise building(Basic mgmt. HR policies & procedures, financial mgmt, Scalable

Ops Systems)

What got you

here…

Organisation management(Scalable Mgmt. team &

systems; Scalable culture)

…won’t get

you there!

Founders must re-invent themselves to become good

leaders of a scaled business. But most don’t know it

Promised

Land

Start-up Stage 1 Growth Stage 2 Growth

No Man’s Land

Set-backs StuckProgress

Entrepreneurial leadership(See & seize mkt opportunity, get 1st customers)

Enterprise building(Basic mgmt. policies & procedures, Ops Systems)

Organisation mgmt(Scalable Mgmt. team &

systems; Scalable culture)

Inventiveness

Innovator(invents)

Entrepreneur(hustles)

Builder(builds, systematises,

scales)

Manager(‘architects’, leads,

manages, expands)

Promised land

~20-30%

~70-80%

So what distinguishes the 10X ENTREPRENEURS?

Start-up Stage 1 Growth Stage 2 Growth

No Man’s Land

10

Focus on building a

magnet for sales

Nail remarkable

offering &

repeatable

business model

Then, scale that

Manage “the path to scale’:

Adjust objectives, team & structures to growth stage

Start-up Stage 1 Growth Stage 2 Growth

Core

leadership

objectives

FINDING: Something

worth scaling

1. Nail scalable offering

2. Nail go-to-market

strategy

3. Nail scalable business

model

4. Nail scalable financing

model

5. Build basic, reliable

operations

6. Sales traction - get to

breakeven

SCALING: from pilot scale to

commercial scale

1. Build core (top level)

management team

2. Build scalable Sales function

3. Drive Revenue - get to cash

positive

4. Optimise business model (work

out gremlins, ready for

replication)

5. Build scalable Operations Mgmt

Systems

6. Build Production capacity to

critical mass

7. Design Org. Structure required

for scale

MATURING: a big business into

a valuable enterprise

1. Grow sales – achieve niche

dominance

2. Build second layer of

management

3. Pursue Efficiencies to optimize

cash flow & profitability

4. Build scalable Management

systems

5. Develop Growth Strategy – for

growth beyond the core

1

12

13

Execute.

Culture and mgmt.

systems to execute

14

EXECUTION APPROACH CHANGES SIGNIFICANTLY WITH EACH

STAGE

125-150

80-125

START-UP STAGE 2 GROWTHSTAGE 1 GROWTH

25-80

9-25

5-9

1st great crisis

& transition

2nd great crisis

& transition

15

Build an A-team

Amazing leaders

Great culture

Top talent

Brilliant 2nd level mgmt

Compelling rewards

16

START-UP

Breakpoint 1

STAGE 2 GROWTHSTAGE 1 GROWTH

Breakpoint 2

TYPE OF TALENT NEEDED CHANGES AS THE BUSINESS

SCALES

17

START-UP

1st great crisis

& transition

STAGE 2 GROWTHSTAGE 1 GROWTH

2nd great crisis

& transition

TYPE OF MANAGEMENT NEEDED ALSO CHANGES AS

THE STAGE & BUSINESS CHALLENGES CHANGE

Level of

Management skill

• Level 1: Team, task,

project management

• Level 3: Functional

Management

• Level 5: Executive

functional &

Enterprise mgmt

Level of

specialisation

• Generalist • Specialist (2-5 yrs) • Deep specialist

(>5-10 yrs)

Type of New Hires

sought

• ‘A-Players who punch

above their weight’

• ‘Serious Management

Talent’ (functional mgmt.

experience & skill;

• ‘Punch above their

weight’

• ‘The Big Guns’

18

Build 2nd Level of Management

19

Build an awesome

Support System.

Power Board

Advisory Board

‘Smart-money’

20

Systematise

revenue growth.

Scalable system

for generating

repeat sales from

sweet spot

customers

21

#1 risk in scale up stage: REVENUE VOLATILITY

22

Build & Scale Sales Function

23

Systematise

customer delight

Processes that

consistently

deliver awesome

customer

experiences

24

Manage money

militantly

Leak proof, future

proof money mgmt.

Business

Intelligence

Cash flow

optimisation

25

Be investable

Highly investable

Strategic finance

relationships

Capital literate

26

10X INNER GAME

27

Be hyper-focused on

building the Company

Effective Personal

Operating System

50% of time on top 3

business building

issues

28

Bring your A-Game

Play to your strengths

Stay sharp

Maintain your mojo

29

ALIGN YOUR ROLE

TO YOUR

‘PEAK

PERFORMANCE

ZONE’

Skill(10,000 hrs)

Energy(personality

fit)

Passion(Why?)

30

Scale Thyself

Constantly grow

management and

leadership abilities

Use accelerated

learning techniques

31

BUILD THE SPECIFIC

SKILLS REQUIRED

FOR THE BUSINESS

OF THE FUTURE

Skill(10,000 hrs)

Energy(personality

fit)

Passion(Why?)

32

Be true to yourself:

Prioritise what

matters

(e.g. rich or king?)

Do what’s right for

the business

Accept trade-offs

BE

PURPOSE

DRIVEN

Purpose will

preserve passion

and energy

through the dark

times (which will

come).

33

34

KNOW THYSELF

Make trade-offs true to yourself, and grounded in reality

Kept CEO role

Kept Board control

Avg. Personal

Wealth created

$10m

$5m

$2m

Older

Co’s

Younger

Co’s

X P X P

X X P P

35

36 www.10X-e.com