Crossing the ScaleUp Chasm – Lack of Leadership and Entrepreneurial Talent
The ScaleUp Institute report 2016 Making the UK the best place to ScaleUp identified lack of leadership and entrepreneurIal talent as the #1 factor holding back UK ScaleUps. An extract from a report by Renovata partners below, makes similar points regarding the shortage of talent.
To address and help Grow Global Champions, ScaleUp Group (scaleupgroup.co) helps find and hire the best ScaleUp growth talent globally using our extensive personal network of successful entrepreneurs – such as our recent placement of leading executive Mike Cawsey at Blue Prism. ScaleUp Group places Global Executive and the Sales Director at ActiveOps.
Demand (for Talent) will continue to outstrip supply – here’s how to handle it
Extract from a report by Renovata Partners
Ten years ago, it was tech startups which were hiring engineers and product executives. It’s clear from our work with major corporate clients that everyone is now actively recruiting those skills. 2017 will see the supply side squeezed further and, as digital demands a whole new set of marketing skills, the pressure will extend in particular to marketing and data/analytics roles.
We see continued demand for ‘investment quality’ candidates – that is, executives who know how to scale, build, and develop talent in high growth VC/PE funded environments, plus a track record in delivering shareholder value. We are seeing significant activity in the midmarket, traditional sector-centric PE community for these types of executives, so these people certainly will have more choices than ever – not just in the startup ecosystem, but with pre-IPO ventures and corporates across many sectors.
On the one hand, this means top talent has a greater appreciation of its own value in the market. But on the other, it is ever more apparent when the right shaped opportunity appears for an individual’s expertise and career trajectory. Our advice is not therefore merely to dial up compensation offers. Instead, we advise decisiveness: don’t wait to see three more candidates; commit fast and hard to a good fit as soon as you see them.’