Webinar date: 31 July 2025
OCFO’s Scale-Up Webinar united founders, finance pros and storytellers around one question: how do you keep growing without losing control or your culture?
Here’s a quick-read recap you can share with your team (or use as a prompt for your Monday stand-up).
1. Why most scale-ups stall
Nicholas Thiede (ScaleUp Company SA) opened with a sober statistic and explained why scale-ups stall: two-thirds of high-growth businesses plateau because strategy is fuzzy, accountability is weak and teams pull in different directions.
His antidote? Master four universal levers which are especially important when scaling-up: People, Strategy, Execution and Cash, and revisit them each quarter.
2. Adopt a scale-up system, not a silver bullet
Nicholas unpacked the Scaling Up framework: align every team to a vivid long-term goal (your BHAG), translating it into quarterly priorities and locking in meeting rhythms that drive flawless execution.
Important take-away for scale-ups: A playbook beats heroic effort, especially once headcount crosses 30.
3. People + cash for scaling up: two sides of the same coin
Ayanda Vabaza-Mvandaba (OCFO) reminded us that cash is the fuel, people are the engine. Starve either and growth sputters.
Her “cycle of growth” shows how investing in talent powers execution, innovation and customer experience, which in turn generates more cash, which is essential for scale-ups.
Quick audit: Does every rand on your salary bill deliver ROI in engagement, skill-building and leadership capacity?
4. Culture scales only if you document and delegate it
When companies are scaling up and headcount doubles, founders must let go and trust empowered teams, otherwise culture drifts.
Both Ayanda and Nicholas cautioned against keeping friends or early hires in roles they’ve outgrown – it’s emotional, but necessary for momentum and scaling up.
5. Founder storytelling is your moat when scaling up
Investors now back people as much as products, argued Tom Voller and Sam Ramsden (Dojo Films). Authentic founder stories build trust faster than polished ads, and algorithms amplify what feels real.
Their “60-20-20 rule” says if 20% of LinkedIn hates your post and 20% loves it, you’re doing it right; you’ve found a tribe.
Storytelling is also important when you are scaling up and moving into new markets where the target audience is unfamiliar with your brand.
Scale-Up action checklist (start your growth strategy for the week ahead)
Day | Micro-action |
Mon | Write a one-sentence strategy everyone can recite. |
Tue | Map your next 90-day priorities to that strategy. |
Wed | Identify one cash metric and one people metric that truly move the needle. |
Thu | Shoot a 60-second founder video: share a customer win or explain why you’re building. |
Fri | Schedule structured 1-on-1s with direct reports: development beats firefighting. |
Missed the Scale-Up Webinar?
The full Scale-Up Webinar recording can be found on our Youtube channel here.
If you need help with your growth strategy, connect with Outsourced CFO for a free consultation here.
Which of the five lessons above could unlock the most growth for your company this quarter?