Now that you have funding for your startup, you’re on your way. Scaling up is a challenging process, but with the right direction from the right people, you can make your way up the path to success. Check out these 7 inspirational TED Talks from influential speakers to learn how you can scale from Seed to Series A.
1. Bill Gross: The Single Biggest Reason Why Startups Succeed
In his TED Talk, founder of Idealab Bill Gross outlines the five main elements for startup success:
- Idea
- Team
- Business model
- Funding
- Timing
Of these five elements, timing is the most important and accounts for almost half of all startup success (42%).
Gross gives examples of great companies that didn’t make it purely because the timing was off, while others lucked into perfect timing and found great success.
If it sounds like your startup’s chances of thriving depends on something entirely out of your control, don’t be too discouraged. “The best way to really assess timing is to really look at whether consumers are really ready for what you have to offer them,” says Gross.
Key takeaway: If you’re creating a startup, carefully assess your timing as you scale up. It can make all the difference.
2. Linda Hill: How to Manage for Collective Creativity
When building a startup, it’s easy to get lost in the pursuit of your vision, and reject ideas from others in the process. Linda Hill of Harvard offers a different perspective in her TED Talk, one that suggests innovation within any organization should come not just from leadership, but from the “bottom of the pyramid.” In other words, innovation is something the entire team/company can — and should — contribute to.
“If we want to build organizations that can innovate time and again,” Hill says, “we must unlearn our conventional notions of leadership.”
Key takeaway: As you structure your scaling organization, remember that input from staff (i.e. the bottom of the pyramid) can give you insight you won’t get from anywhere else. Be a collaborative leader for true innovation.
3. Knut Haanaes: Two Reasons Companies Fail — and How to Avoid Them
For startups, the fear of failure is real. Most startups don’t make it, and you don’t want yours to end up on that ever-growing list.
In his TED Talk, business strategist Knut Haanaes says that companies fail for two reasons: either “they only do more of the same, or they only do what’s new.”
For optimal success and longevity, Haanaes notes a balance of innovation (exploration) and improvement (exploitation) is key.
Key takeaway: To build a sustainable company, determine where things are working well and where you can afford to push the boundaries; don’t focus too much on one or the other.
4. Eric Berridge: Why Tech Needs the Humanities
Entrepreneur Eric Berridge makes a case for diversity in his TED Talk by noting that if everyone at a company has the exact same skillset, it’s easy to get stuck in one place.
“We need a diversity of backgrounds and skills, with introverts and extroverts and leaders and followers,” he says. “That is our future workforce.”
Diversity isn’t just about gender or race — it’s also about skillset. Different ways of thinking drive innovation, so diversity of thought is best for creating a thriving business.
Key takeaway: Hire a wide variety of people with different knowledge and skills for a more diverse, innovative team.
5. Amy Edmondson: How to Turn a Group of Strangers into a Team
Teams are what make a company run well, but having a group of people in one place doesn’t make them a team. With this in mind, business school professor Amy Edmondson talks about “Teaming” in her TED Talk. Teaming, she argues, is the way seemingly impossible problems get solved:
“Teaming is teamwork on the fly. It's coordinating and collaborating with people across boundaries of all kinds -- expertise, distance, time zone, you name it — to get work done.”
Key takeaway: Forming strong, collaborative teams is important for scaling from seed stage to series A.
6. Navi Radjou: Creative Problem-Solving in the Face of Extreme Limits
In his TED Talk, Navi Radjou outlines the 3 main principles to Jugaad (frugal innovation):
- Keep it simple
- Don’t reinvent the wheel
- Think and act horizontally
These principles relay a larger message: don’t be overambitious. Success comes from steady work, doing what works, and working collaboratively.
“The entrepreneurs who will create Jugaad solutions are like alchemists. They can magically transform adversity into opportunity, and turn something of less value into something of high value.”
Key takeaway: Make strategic investments to improve efficiency and value as much as possible. Keep things simple — tried and true solutions work for a reason.
7. Natalie Fratto: 3 Ways to Measure Your Adaptability — and How to Improve It
Investor, Natalie Fratto talks about how some venture capitalists choose to fund startups based on background or leadership. For Fratto, choosing which startups to fund is based on adaptability.
Being able to adapt to change — something inevitable in both life and business — speaks louder than having a great idea or leadership skills.
“Adaptability itself is a form of intelligence,” Fratto argues, “and our adaptability quotient, or AQ, is something that can be measured, tested and improved.”
She measures adaptability in three ways:
- Asking “what if” questions
- Looking for signs of “unlearning,” the process of “challenging what one presumes to already know and overriding that with new information”
- Prioritizing exploration over exploitation
Key takeaway: Things move quickly as you scale, so you have to be able to adapt to new situations.
Feeling inspired? We certainly hope so. This information is valuable and applicable, so don’t hesitate to take it to heart. Remember, seed funding is only the beginning. The next step is strategizing for scaling while keeping concepts like adaptability and collaboration in mind.
