4/22/2016 Entrepreneurship is also about scalability

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Entrepreneurship is not just about startups; its
also about scalability
By: Jerry Frantz | 12:01am EDT March 1, 2015 Share This Article:

When we think about entrepreneurship in the U.S., high pro le Silicon Valley tech startups like
Google, Facebook, Dropbox or Uber typically come to mind. No other ecosystem comes close to
attracting so much venture capital and creating so many high-paying jobs.

Many other regions have spent the last two decades trying to nd ways to replicate their model.
Jerry Frantz
This is the reason many economic development organizations (EDOs), incubators, accelerators,
Managing partner
angel funds, etc., focus their time and resources on startup ventures. Entrepreneurial services and investing
team
The logic is solid, young companies are generating virtually all net-new job growth in the U.S. JumpStart Inc.

Without startups and the entrepreneurs that drive them, achieving long-term economic growth Contact
seems impossible.

Another group needs attention JumpStart Inc.

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4/22/2016 Entrepreneurship is also about scalability

All this attention on high-pro le tech startups racing toward an IPO seems to have obscured a jerry.frantz@jumpstartinc.org
di erent, more low pro le group of high-potential ventures that also need nurturing. Connect on Social Media

As any successful entrepreneur will tell you, the journey from idea to exit is a long one. Twitter
Entrepreneurship is fraught with growing pains, and the long ght through the valley of death Facebook
only leads to a new kind of problem on the other side scalability.

If startups are the economic newborns, then these scaleup ventures are the adolescents. They
may or may not be technology companies, but either way, all scaleups share one key
characteristic: an untapped potential for rapid growth and job creation.

Most companies in the scaleup phase have surpassed cash ow breakeven and are modestly
pro table. Most scaleups, however, still confront the same types of fundamental business
challenges that plague startups capital, sales and talent.

To get to the next level of growth, most scaleups will need capital to build sta and infrastructure.
With growth comes the need to add sta and the demand to nd talent to help address the many
new operational challenges that come along with growth. And of course, the need to grow revenue
is perpetual.

Growing revenue

While some of these young businesses may be stuck at a revenue plateau, they have a huge
advantage over startups. They already have a customer base that validates their business model.
If they can identify and overcome their particular bottleneck, these scaleups have the potential to
grow (and hire) aggressively.

While organizations have sprung up in the last decade to assist early-stage startups, few of them
focus on helping scaleups achieve their true potential.

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4/22/2016 Entrepreneurship is also about scalability

JumpStart has begun a program to assist high-potential scaleups in Northeast Ohio in their e orts
to raise capital, grow sales and attract, recruit and retain key talent.

The road to success extends far beyond the startup stage. For the ecosystem to truly thrive, we
must also begin looking for ways to unlock the full economic potential of our local scaleup
companies. These businesses may not have generated the media attention of Silicon Valley-style
startups, but they are poised to rapidly create jobs and economic impact.

And with the right help at the right time, they might just start generating some high-pro le
headlines of their own.

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Job-creation volume,
optimum location are the
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Beyond the venture capital

model: Job-creation volume,
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Partners and
entrepreneurship blend well
to achieve success

Reinventing Cleveland: From

rust belt to medical capital,
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transformation

There are many doors to

Northeast Ohios
entrepreneurial ecosystem

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