SCALING A STARTUP WITH LIMITED RESOURCES: SMART TACTICS FOR RAPID GROWTH

By Kelechi Anyikude

If you’ve ever researched startups at some point, you would’ve encountered several statistics highlighting failures.

20% of new businesses fail within the first two years
45% of new business startups don’t survive the fifth year
65% of new startups fail during the first ten years

To be honest, seeing these numbers can be discouraging, especially if you’re just starting. You might even think, “What if my business becomes part of these statistics?” Startups.com identifies the biggest reason for these failures as the creation of a product that the market doesn’t want. But in truth, most startups don’t fail because of a bad idea; they fail because they run out of resources before gaining traction.

What if I told you that some of the most successful companies today started with almost nothing? I’m talking of the Starbucks and Subways of this world. So, how did they make it? And more importantly, how can you?

Most startups operate on a shoestring budget. This means every penny counts, and you can’t afford to waste money. So, you must figure out how to scale your business efficiently with the little you have, and luckily, I have a list of high-impact strategies that could benefit you.

Leverage Technology for Efficiency:

To start with, I always like to emphasise technology because it remains one of the best ways to scale a business. With several tools out there to help streamline activities and automate repetitive processes, you will have more free time to focus on other important tasks.

Some essential startup tools include:

Project management—with platforms like Asana and Trello to keep teams organised and on task.
Communication—with platforms like Slack and Google Workspace to improve collaboration
Design—with platforms like Canva and Figma to create professional visuals without having to hire a designer.
Prioritise Core Growth Drivers:

This is another strategy for scaling your startup business even with limited resources. When there are resource constraints, every decision matters, and it is only necessary to prioritise what truly moves the needle, as that can make all the difference.

When you concentrate on high-impact activities, you can:

Ensure that the three major resources—time, effort, and money—are spent on areas that yield the most results.
Prevent unnecessary spending on tasks that do not contribute to growth.
Quickly build a solid foundation that supports long-term expansion.

For instance, a book publishing startup should invest in high-quality editing and a targeted market rather than waste resources on excessive print runs or unfocussed advertisements.

Outsource. Outsource. Outsource:

Outsourcing tasks is another way to save costs while trying to scale your startup. It allows you to pay more attention to core activities while leveraging external expertise. You do not have to be burdened with the high cost of hiring a full-time staff. Outsourcing tasks enable you to do the job efficiently and at a lower cost. The benefits of outsourcing for startups are as follows:

Reducing overhead costs
Work with professionals who specialise in specific areas without long-term commitments.
Free up internal resources to focus on high-impact activities
Easily adjust external delegated tasks based on demand

Instead of stretching your team thin with work, you can simply delegate non-core activities to experts. By “non-core tasks”, I mean data entry, customer support, and content creation. If big brands like Coca-Cola can successfully outsource manufacturing and storage deals to cut costs, why shouldn’t startups do the same?

Foster Strategic Partnerships:

Strategic partnerships cannot be overemphasised. Forming alliances with other businesses in your industry can help you tap into new markets and even reach more customers. Even bigger and more established brands still do this because it benefits them. So, as a startup aiming to scale operations with minimum resources, you should understand that these partnerships allow you to:

Leverage your partner’s existing customer base to gain visibility
Share marketing expenses and resources instead of shouldering them alone
Align with established brands to enhance your startup’s reputation
Offer complimentary services that customers value

For instance, a startup that sells eco-friendly office supplies and is looking to gain more popularity but without funds for advertisements could partner with a coworking space that also promotes sustainability. The coworking space can recommend the startup’s products to its members. In return, the startup can provide discounts to the coworking space’s customers. Isn’t that a win-win?

Embracing Lean Operations:

This approach makes it easy to minimise waste and focus solely on essential services. Utilising lean operations enables you to achieve sustainable growth without unnecessary spending. By embracing lean operations, you can:

Avoid overspending on unnecessary tools or office space
Easily adapt to changes in the market without being weighed down by excess overhead
Focus on high-impact activities that directly contribute to growth
Ensure every penny and time is spent wisely

An example of a company that scaled its operations through the lean approach is Airbnb. In its early days, the startup couldn’t afford large-scale advertising and luxurious offices. So, instead, they photographed listings to enhance the appeal and also focused on SEO and referrals rather than expensive ads. They ensured that their operations were lean and successful, enabling them to scale into a billion-dollar company with no huge upfront cost.

Overall, the tactics for rapid growth in terms of scaling a startup’s operations all boils down to three factors. The first is to acknowledge the challenges startups face. The second is to understand the reasons for these challenges that eventually give rise to failure. Then the third step is figuring out ways to curb this and scale your operations. With all that has been discussed, startups now know how to approach scalability issues even with limited resources. By enforcing these high-impact strategies, growth becomes an inevitable outcome.

Kelechi Anyikude is a Digital and Growth Marketing Strategist and a regular tech and business contributor at various other publications.

Connect with Kelechi about tech marketing and opportunities in scaling startups on LinkedIn (Kelechi Anyikude)