Entrepreneurial Thinking While Managing for Growth

A recent article from Harvard Business Review titled, “Start-Ups That Last, How to scale your business” by Ranjay Gulati and Alicia DeSantola, looks at how successful companies have adapted their management culture when evolving from entrepreneurial start-ups to larger organizations. The article points out that many of the lessons learned can also be applied to companies of any size that are seeking growth. It's noted that changes implemented in growing companies are more than ways to cope with an increasing size, "…they’re also about handling greater market and organizational complexity as [they] seek different avenues for growth. That can mean developing new products or services, entering new markets, or engaging in other forms of innovation." One such behavior is hiring functional experts.

“It’s easy to misconstrue these activities [for scaling a venture] as replication—as merely increasing the capacity and efficiency of what you’re already doing. But they’re also about handling greater market and organizational complexity as you seek different avenues for growth. That can mean developing new products or services, entering new markets, or engaging in other forms of innovation.”

I am proud to say that Archer has been used as a “functional expert” for investment management firms seeking to expand their business through new products and by entering new markets. By relying on Archer’s expertise to help them lay the technological and operational foundation for their growth, these firms were able to maintain their focus on what made them successful in the first place.

In providing our partners with a robust and highly adaptable investment management platform along with scalable operational outsourcing, they no longer worry that changes needed to support their growth “…will be the death of spontaneity, adaptability, and speed.” As the HBR article points out, these are valuable qualities that likely led to success, further noting that, “Many large companies realize that too; that’s why they often try to behave more like new ventures.”

All quotes from: Gulati and DeSantola, "Start-Ups That Last, How to scale your business." Harvard Business Review. March 2016.