My Perspectives on Growth (Presentation)

In my new capacity as an EIR at Balderton Capital, I recently gave a presentation to a leadership meeting at a high-growth, Balderton-backed startup offering my perspectives on growth and the challenges that come with it.

I discussed these five challenges:

1. Next-levelitis, an obsessive focus on scaling everything to the next level.  (Which is great if not overdone.)
2. Absorbing new leaders, (aka, “FBI guys”) and the challenges that come when hiring the wrong next-level people and they blow themselves up at the start.
3. Conflation of regional culture and opinion, a common problem in international expansion.  (What’s a bona fide regional difference vs. a difference of opinion masked as one?)
4. Missing an opportunity that you want (aka, getting “passed over” for a promotion) and what to do about it.
5. Getting things wrong to get other things right.  Startups are 100% about getting what matters right.  Which begs the question, what matters?

The slide deck is below.

By the way, you have to watch the referenced Die Hard videos; they do a superb job of portraying what it feels like in these situations:

“I’m Dwayne Robinson … and I’m in charge here.”

“Not any more.”