{"id":5376,"date":"2019-06-11T12:13:16","date_gmt":"2019-06-11T16:13:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/?p=5376"},"modified":"2020-02-26T14:27:36","modified_gmt":"2020-02-26T19:27:36","slug":"6-reasons-these-startups-decided-to-stay-small-for-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/management-leadership\/6-reasons-these-startups-decided-to-stay-small-for-now","title":{"rendered":"Six reasons these startups decided to stay small\u2014for now"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When it comes to growing a business, hiring can feel like a huge step toward success. After all, there\u2019s a feeling of accomplishment in not <\/em>having to be the entrepreneur who does everything, moving beyond the startup space, and operating like a \u201ctraditional\u201d company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in Company of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>author Paul Jarvis argues against growth as a one-size-fits all strategy for startups. Technological advances and freelance talent have made it possible for growth-stage entrepreneurs to remain small and invest in resources over talent while creating a sustainable business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A startup incubator like WeWork Labs<\/a> can offer entrepreneurs a place to stay small and nimble with access to other small businesses for support. Here, four Labs founders explain why they\u2019re intentionally staying small even in growth phase\u2014and the workarounds and lessons that have helped them thrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scaling down is harder than scaling up<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

That advice may sound obvious, but it can be all too easy to forget as your startup nets initial funding. \u201cWe prematurely scaled \u2014 a rookie mistake,\u201d says Shadi Kuteish, the Paris-based founder of Boink<\/a>, an app that allows you to order from your phone at restaurants and bars. \u201cIt was the most detrimental, dangerous, and wrong decision that I’ve made during the course of this startup,\u201d he says. The high cost of making payroll each month quickly put pressure on the growing company\u2014which is based at WeWork 198 Avenue de France<\/a>\u2014making it tough to adequately fund additional resources in technology needed for growth. \u201cScaling down was painful. We had to fire people, but it was an absolute necessity for the success of the organization as a whole.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smaller groups make faster decisions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Andonis Sakatis, CEO of the Sydney-based Zenify<\/a>, a company that coordinates corporate partnerships through sustainable-product sales, came from a financial-services background.\u201cI had seen where large teams often led to a lot of red tape when it came to decisions,\u201d explains Sakatis, who works at WeWork 100 Harris St<\/a>. When he founded his company in 2017, he decided to rely exclusively on freelance help for business needs such as marketing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes the problem isn\u2019t people power<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sarah Skyung, CEO of Soodevie<\/a>, a Seoul-based wine-pairing company, began her business hosting corporate and private events. Skyung, a member at WeWork Yeoksam Station II<\/a>, loved the events, but the time commitment made her realize that events may not be a scalable business. \u201cInstead of trying to take on help to make the event requests happen, I took a step back to try to think of a way to monetize my idea,\u201d she says. Skyung refined her business plan to maximize the reach of her brand: She created a home-tasting kit, which will launch this summer.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Automation can be a useful first step<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Boink\u2019s Kuteish feels like relying on technology is essential for early-stage startups\u2014as long as they know when and how a human touch is needed. \u201cWe have tried as much as possible to use tech to scale our operations,\u201d he says. \u201cWe have been successful so far but we know that there is a limit. The pros are less expenditure and a more-agile organization to innovate, while on the con side, there is less discussion and thought cross-pollination.\u201d Keeping careful track of when the cons outweigh the pros may give you the nudge you need when it\u2019s time to scale up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lean team helps you stay focused<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Chlo\u00eb Stewart\u2019s company, nibs etc<\/a>., is a sustainable-food brand that creates no-waste recipes and products sold at London\u2019s Borough Market. For Stewart, the advantage of being the CEO of a small team means it\u2019s easier to prioritize her daily to-do list. \u201cRight now, we\u2019re focused on selling the product, so my decisions are geared toward that,\u201d says Stewart, a winner at last year\u2019s Creator Awards<\/a> in London who works out of WeWork 70 Wilson St<\/a>. She finds herself saying no to one-off events and instead focusing on a website redesign. Her product was born from her food and lifestyle blog, and Stewart wants to make sure any new content supports it. By staying small, she doesn\u2019t get pulled into time-consuming projects that may not support long-term growth goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Networking saves time and money<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sakatis finds the WeWork environment invaluable for networking with other small companies.  \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of cross-industry synergy that can make things happen much more quickly than in traditional organizations,\u201d he says. \u201cIn other situations, if you were looking for a marketing firm or copywriter, you could spend days trying to fill a project. But here, you\u2019re always getting referrals and seeing other companies. It saves so much time, and for a small startup, time truly is money.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WeWork offers companies of all sizes space solutions that help solve their biggest business challenges.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n