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The startup game has changed, and today’s growth companies are growing faster than ever before. According to Fundz, the average round size of a Series A in 2020 was $ 15.7 million. TechCrunch Note that just five years ago, that number was $ 11.8 million, and a decade ago, only $ 5.1 million. The same goes for evaluation; According to Crunchbase, Series A companies are now seeing a 60 million to $ 80 million valuation, with the goal of a খেলা 1 billion-plus exit in the final game.
The goal is more – more cash, more growth and more manifold If handled improperly, however, would not be better. Although the average check size among venture capital (VC) firms has increased, the success rate of their portfolio firms has not. Harvard Business School notes that despite the increase in cash inflows, 75% of VC-supported startups still fail.
Failure can be attributed to a variety of unforeseen or unavoidable causes, often coming from external circumstances beyond our control. However, as leaders and investors, we must ask ourselves, what are the things in my company that I am? To be able to Control, especially at critical moments of growth? And with that question comes a look at the structure of the organization. One of its most neglected but integral components is human capital.
Related: Going social: Why businesses need to invest more in human capital
Founders Circle Capital surveyed 25 hyper-growth companies and found that one in four employees left in a given year – a 25% turnover rate and more than double the overall industry. One can only imagine the impact that repeated hiring, training and retraining can have on an innovation-led company seeking to grow at a steady warp pace. It’s simply not sustainable.
The bottom line is that when startups and their investors partner to increase the capital and funding scale, they have the opportunity to look at the existing human capital structure and plan more purposeful roadmaps to support its growth. Here are five keys to managing human capital through hyper-growth.
1. Tie your inner shoe laces
Understand “What’s Next” Before Thinking About “What’s Next” For example, have you identified existing team members who are integral to your company’s future success? Have you integrated growth-enhancing compensation packages to ensure their continued commitment?
2. Hire an internal recruiting team
Investors expect their capital to be processed quickly and efficiently. With this comes the need for quick but effective recruitment. However, support for such recruitment management is often a thought, a madness for resources once an event is completed. Before launching a fundraising, transaction or increase, it is important to keep the recruiting team in place and lay the groundwork for its human capital alignment.
3. Create a new company’s archetype
The core of your company may continue to grow, but its features will inevitably change. It’s like a baby turning into a small child. It is important that your company go through the key stages of its growth life cycle, leadership determines how it wants to look after growth, how it wants to behave and what it wants to be known for. In short, the company needs to create a new post-growth archetype.
4. Pre-allocate one percent of your fundraising for change management integration and training
As the company launches the hose of growth fire and starts running a flowing stream of investment cash, it will inevitably take on a new and more mature personality. Companies know that with increasing growth comes pain and it is in their power to plan accordingly. Change management is necessary, but many times, it is only effective when unemployment occurs. Often, it can be too late.
5. Define your growth rubric
Successful growth is not just about revenue, eyes or market share. So, create a massive growth rubric – key elements that will constantly measure the leadership of the company to define successful progress. This growth rubric can be used before, during, and after transition stages, benchmarking against individual success metrics while course-modifying where needed.
Related: Epidemic has changed our attitude towards human capital in 4 ways
Today’s Growth Company has a unique opportunity to develop more self-aware plans. As part of securing capital, it is up to the company and its investors to develop a comprehensive strategy for a healthy scale. Every VC has to satisfy investors and their reports are full of metrics like revenue, compound annual growth rate (CAGR) and customer acquisitions. As leaders, we have the opportunity to hold ourselves accountable for internal metrics such as hiring skills, retention rates, employee satisfaction, and internal promotion rates. Human capital is the engine under the glamorous hood, and in the end it is the speed that will make the car last on the full growth journey.
