{"id":247517,"date":"2021-05-12T10:00:12","date_gmt":"2021-05-12T07:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/my-startup-tripled-in-size-in-2020-heres-what-i-learned\/"},"modified":"2021-05-12T10:00:12","modified_gmt":"2021-05-12T07:00:12","slug":"my-startup-tripled-in-size-in-2020-heres-what-i-learned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/my-startup-tripled-in-size-in-2020-heres-what-i-learned\/","title":{"rendered":"#My startup tripled in size in 2020: Here\u2019s what I learned"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a275ffdf26b8\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a275ffdf26b8\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/my-startup-tripled-in-size-in-2020-heres-what-i-learned\/#First_up_Context\" >First up: Context<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/my-startup-tripled-in-size-in-2020-heres-what-i-learned\/#Take_one_step_back_two_steps_forward\" >Take one step back, two steps forward\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/my-startup-tripled-in-size-in-2020-heres-what-i-learned\/#Support_existing_employees\" >Support existing employees\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/my-startup-tripled-in-size-in-2020-heres-what-i-learned\/#Evolve_the_culture\" >Evolve the culture<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/my-startup-tripled-in-size-in-2020-heres-what-i-learned\/#Scale_with_intention\" >Scale with intention<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#My startup <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">trip<\/a>led in size in 2020: Here\u2019s what I learned<\/strong>&#8221;<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image?fit=796%2C417&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fcdn0.tnwcdn.com%2Fwp-content%2Fblogs.dir%2F1%2Ffiles%2F2021%2F05%2Fgrowth-triple-startup-scaling-gq.png&amp;signature=a33d749b686f2175206e2d90bcd1e2f0\" \/><\/p>\n<div><span>Many founders openly talk about the challenges and triumphs that come with expanding product offerings and adding customers. But adding colleagues \u2014 especially in a remote environment \u2014 comes with its own set of growing pains and valuable lessons.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>I experienced that first-hand last year when my team\u00a0<em>tripled\u00a0<\/em>in size. It wasn\u2019t easy, but I learned great lessons that made me a better entrepreneur. So let me share <\/span><span>what I discovered while scaling our team at a rate that none of us had anticipated.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"First_up_Context\"><\/span>First up: Context<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>When my team closed our $15 million <\/span><span><a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Series<\/a> A funding round<\/span><span> last August, I wouldn\u2019t have guessed that just six months later we would follow up with our $38 million Series B round. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>However, as a provider of enterprise-grade cloud components that enables software teams to add in-<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a> chat and activity feeds to their products, maybe it shouldn\u2019t have come as a surprise. Our<\/span><span> rapid growth came as chat emerged as the dominant medium for day-to-day communications in our new virtual reality.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>So to sum up our growth: in 2020, we saw a <em>517% increase in revenue<\/em> from our <\/span><span>chat API<\/span><span> product, while more than doubling our user base to support more than a billion end users. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Our team size tripled from 31 to 93 employees, and the headcount continues to increase almost daily. Today, we employ 116 people across our offices in Boulder, Colo., Amsterdam, and remotely worldwide.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>A lot of people and a lot of challenges, here\u2019s what I learned from it.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Take_one_step_back_two_steps_forward\"><\/span><span>Take one step back, two steps forward\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>One of the most pressing issues we faced as a team while expanding was a customer onboarding bottleneck. We prioritize supporting our customers with quick response times and thorough solutions, and this became increasingly difficult to maintain while simultaneously ramping up hiring.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>As Stream\u2019s customer base grew, I found it presented a catch-22: there was a need to focus energy on onboarding new customers and ensuring customer satisfaction, but we needed the personnel resources to do so. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Then to keep up with customer demand, our new team members had to hit the ground sprinting. While that might be an easy default when things are hectic, it wasn\u2019t setting employees up for success.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>That\u2019s why my team and I took a step back to assess our processes, and ultimately, we temporarily shifted our focus to ensure we were properly hiring and training new employees. Of course, doing so required resources from existing team members, and as a result, some core competencies and initiatives had to be paused.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>For many founders and leaders, this might feel like a hard pill to swallow during a high-growth period, but I think it can definitely be worth it. It\u2019s a short-term decline in speed that will allow you to pick up ten-fold in the long run.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Support_existing_employees\"><\/span><span>Support existing employees\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>As the team grows, existing employees will naturally develop in their roles. Particularly, employees who were previously one-person departments may start managing <\/span><span>teams for the first time. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>This was especially true for us because we often intentionally hire people who might be one level below the title, and we encourage them to grow at Stream. Snowflake CEO Frank Slootman writes about this concept in his book <\/span><i><span>Tape Sucks<\/span><\/i><span>, if you want to dive deeper into it<\/span><span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>While there is ample value in this hiring approach, I soon realized I needed to make sure new managers had the proper resources and felt supported in their accelerated growth. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Over time, I became better at coaching managers to clearly communicate goals and check in regularly with their direct reports. <\/span>I think it\u2019s also smart to look for the tools that can help you at this point. For me, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/lattice.com\/\"><span>Lattice<\/span><\/a><span> was the right to help us streamline this process and create organized accountability.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>I also discovered that as a founder of an early-stage startup, you\u2019re directly leading people who do the work and execute. As the team expands, that leadership role evolves and becomes more indirect. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>So in order for your startup to successfully scale, it\u2019s imperative that you and early employees trust incoming leadership hires to run their respective departments. <\/span><span>This process can be hard because founders especially are used to having a hand in everything, but it\u2019s necessary to relinquish some control and let others make decisions.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Evolve_the_culture\"><\/span><span>Evolve the culture<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>Lastly, the culture will evolve whether you want it to or not, and it\u2019s essential to take an active role in shaping it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In the early days of a startup with a small team, you naturally develop close relationships with your co-workers as you\u2019re working long hours in close proximity. As that team doubles, triples, and even quadruples, the dynamic will inevitably shift. This is where it\u2019s key to step in with intention.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Initially, my co-founder Tommaso Barbugli and I leaned on HR for help, focusing on the obvious things like benefits, perks, and fun team-building events. However, as the dust settled, we realized we needed to think bigger in terms of the culture we wanted to cultivate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>We agreed that it\u2019s important to us to make Stream a place where people can learn the skills they might need to pursue their own projects or startups in the future, as I believe employees feel most content when they are progressing and acquiring new abilities. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>To accomplish this, we\u2019re starting to develop open resources such as dedicated Slack channels for learning about startups and certain coding languages, weekly technical training opportunities for employees outside the engineering department, and more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The lesson here is that during this liminal (and hectic) period, there\u2019s actually ample opportunity to thoughtfully mold your company culture. A happy, healthy team is the best investment you can make as a founder to sustain your business for the long term.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Scale_with_intention\"><\/span><span>Scale with intention<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span>Ultimately, the resounding lesson in scaling our organization can be best summarized as pause, assess, and move forward with intention. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>I know it can be tempting to continue at full speed when the momentum of growth really sets in, but a purposeful slowdown to address necessary issues can go a long way in achieving organizational goals. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Moving quickly is a non-negotiable in the startup world, but that doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t also move purposefully.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/my-startup-tripled-in-size-in-2020-heres-what-i-learned\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#My startup tripled in size in 2020: Here\u2019s what I learned&#8221; Many founders openly talk about the challenges and triumphs that come with expanding product offerings and adding customers. But adding colleagues \u2014 especially in a remote environment \u2014 comes with its own set of growing pains and valuable lessons.\u00a0 I experienced that first-hand last&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":247518,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img-cdn.tnwcdn.com\/image\/growth-quarters?filter_last=1&fit=1280,640&url=https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2021\/05\/growth-triple-startup-scaling-gq.png&signature=0260276b334bbbdf011774bc085d663a","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-247517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247517"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247517\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/247518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}