Some of the biggest challenges facing scale-up companies include managing rapid growth, maintaining and protecting company culture and values, securing funding and navigating market competition. On the path from startup to scaleup it is critical to be agile, adaptable and strategic in order to successfully address these challenges.

In the framework of South Summit 2024, BStartup organised the panel discussion ‘Navigating the obstacles on the journey from startup to scale-up’, with Ricard Guillem, founder of Cafler, Natalia Villora, CEO and Cofounder at Flowww, and Jose Carol, Business Development VP at Qida, moderated by Laurent Arens, BStartup 10 Director at Banco Sabadell. In this panel, the three companies shared the challenges they have faced on their way to becoming scaleups: team growth, culture, investment rounds, internationalization…

#SouthSummit24 | @rguillemmaroto, CEO @caflerapp, Natalia Villora, CEO @flowww_es and @Josemanuelcarol VP of Business Development at @QidaCare share their main lessons on the road from startup to scaleup in their panel at @south_summit. https://t.co/5IxISvW5K1 @BancoSabadell https://t.co/e4zwJDekkg pic.twitter.com/zEkABQNl3W

— BStartup (@BStartup) June 7, 2024

Natalia Villora, CEO of Flowww, said: ‘Onboarding is a key part of success in the process from startup to scaleup. Providing a deep knowledge of the company from the beginning will have a positive impact on performance’. 

On team management, Jose Manuel Carol stressed that: ‘Hiring a team is one of the biggest challenges when scaling, but it is key not to lower the quality bar, to keep the corporate culture in mind and not to be afraid to do without a profile if it does not fit’.

Ricard Guillem, CEO of Cafler, pointed out: ‘Not all companies need to raise money, and it is not always a good decision: there is more pressure, more dilution, and it can lead you to take bad actions. It is essential to think about whether your company needs it and what for’.

Laurent Arens, director BStartup10 and moderator of the panel, said: ‘In this panel we have been able to learn from three successful companies how they have gone from startup to scaleup and the challenges they have faced in the process. At BStartup we are a financial partner, but we also help in the transition to scale, gaining notoriety and generating synergies to continue raising private funding’.