Startup companies face a very big obstacle. That obstacle isn’t necessarily money, it is scale. In fact, Forbes Magazine has stated that the fact that startup companies scale prematurely is the top reason for them failing. This means that all entrepreneurs should focus on scaling – when and how to do it. But that also means that they have to understand what it is in the first place. And for this, they may need to use the top innovation management software.
Top Innovation Management Software Addresses 21st Century Problems
Scaling really is a 21st century problem, it seems. But in reality, it is something that has been vital to all businesses throughout history. Only those companies that know when to expend and contract, and how to do it, are the ones that are successful.
Look, for instance, at the Christian church. Rewind a few thousand years and it was a small group of a handful of insurgents. Today, they are the wealthiest and biggest spiritual order in the world. Records show that its first real corporation, which still exists today, was the Benedictine Order, founded in approximately 529AD. Expansion was easy in those day: each person tried to attract more people into the group, for which they had varying opportunities. Through this system, growth is increasingly wide, with increasing numbers of opportunities. And, if done properly, scaling goes very quickly as well.
Of course, the church isn’t technically a for profit business, but even in real for profits, the element of scaling can clearly be seen. Consider StoraEnso, founded in 1288 Sweden. It focused on a copper mine and by the 17th century, around 75% of all copper in Europe came from there. The company had a mine and it employed more people. And every time there was more demand, more people were hired again. This is a different type of scaling. And as tools and machines were made available, the methods of scaling changed again.
Of course, then, the industrial revolution happened and this led to a different type of scaling. Suddenly, it was about having fewer and fewer people. Businesses still grew, scaling outwards, but their workforce shrunk, scaling inwards. Suddenly, it was possible to have just 13 employees, yet run a billion dollar business.
This is the point at which innovation management software comes in. Today, everything is digital, done through computers, and online. Yet, people are still needed. No matter how much work computers can do for us, and how little person to person contact we need, it is still the human mind that helps companies expand their reach and come up with new ideas. No matter how strong algorithms are, it still takes people to truly determine where a business is going to go.
What innovation management software allows businesses to do, and particularly startups, is have a realistic view of whether the organization should expand or contract, how, and why. It gives the power back to the people at the same time, which in turn makes them more engaged.