We’ve had the perfect combination of a recently depressed employment market and rapid advancement in technologies to see another boom in start and scale ups.

I’ve been involved in start and scale ups for nearly 25 years with many outstanding clients and my own businesses and see the same organisation and people challenges arise time and time again.

Start‑ups want to grow and innovate — but managing the sales, running of the business operation, hiring and managing the talent at the same time – is where things get messy.

Roles shift weekly. Priorities flip overnight. Processes barely exist. Founders may need one person to be an engineer, product thinker, project and change manager rolled into one.

Meanwhile, established businesses with budget and resources hoover up the people who can deliver build scalable businesses, leaving start‑ups fighting over a pool of people willing to take the risk associated with new ventures.

The ambition is huge. The pace is addictive. But without the right people, sales, tech and change capability, even the best ideas stall before they scale.

Start‑ups don’t fail because of vision. They fail because they underestimate the skills, time and and budget needed to turn that vision into something real.

Here are top five growing pains start ups face:

1. Unrealistic role scoping
Start‑ups often want one person to cover engineering, product, data, automation, DevOps, and change management — all wrapped into a single “versatile” hire.

2. Salary pressure from established businesses
Start‑ups can’t compete with the cash, benefits, established carer progression training and stability offered by larger companies. Even mid‑level engineers now command salaries that early‑stage companies struggle to match.

3. Constant change and lack of structure
Start‑ups move fast — but often without process, documentation, or clear ownership. Tech and change specialists thrive in ambiguity, but they still need some structure to deliver.

4. Founders underestimate the depth of project management and technical work
Many founders are vision‑led but underestimate the complexity of building scalable businesses, having clear sales and market strategy, managing change across a growing team, systems, data integration and many more

5. Culture fit vs. capability
Start‑ups want people who are mission‑aligned, entrepreneurial, resilient, and technically excellent — but that combination is rare.

Start‑ups don’t struggle because they lack ambition. They struggle because they underestimate the level of skills, time and budget required to scale without breaking.

Get those three right, and you have the competitive advantage.

Feel free to add your thoughts and DM me if you’d like our help with your growth plans to either hire you the people you need or input into your strategy.

hashtag#startup hashtag#scaleup hashtag#recruitment hashtag#technology hashtag#change hashtag#executive hashtag#board hashtag#founder hashtag#management