Fintech is an ever-changing market. With our service and staff in a near-permanent state of evolution, there’s always an opportunity to learn something new. 3S Money recently hit 100 employees globally and the realisation that we’re no longer a tiny startup has finally sunk in.
This period of rapid scaling has given me chance to reflect on what it means to run a scaleup and the lessons I have learned along the way. Here are my top 5 recommendations all startup and scaleup founders should consider:
Stop trying to do everything yourself.
As a founder, you think you can do everything. You want to lead from the front and set the standard for success. However, there comes a time when every founder needs to take a step back and this starts with hiring a team you can trust. Building a team of talented people that support and share your passion will give you the foundation needed to take your business to the next level.
Nail your messaging internally.
Promoting your messaging externally is important, but does everyone internally share your vision? Ensuring every team within your business is focused on the challenge ahead starts with you. Company objectives may change, and markets will always evolve. Whatever happens, the key to aligning every stakeholder to the problem you’re trying to solve is clear and honest communication.
Invest in your staff.
Retaining strong talent isn’t easy. Giving your team opportunities for continued personal and professional growth will help keep them invested in your mission. Creating a culture of internal promotion and merited career progression shows your faith in individuals. Providing access to relevant L&D services, such as courses or industry accreditations, shows your commitment to upskilling people to become industry leaders. Above all, look to champion your existing staff at every opportunity.
Get to know your team properly.
When you’re in full scaleup mode, headcount growth can be hard to keep up with. Therefore, you need to make a point of understanding everyone’s role. Our hybrid approach allows me to check in with people daily – which is something I love to do. Whatever your working model is, it’s vital to regularly check in with different teams and their department leads to know what people are working on.
Remember where and why you started.
As you grow, it’s easy to focus solely on numbers. But what made you start your business in the first place? Everything should always come back to this. We recently introduced a ‘Client of the Week’ feature in our weekly internal newsletter, to remind everyone why their roles are so important. Keeping our clients happy is at the heart of what we do, so making sure people are reminded that our service is there to solve someone's problem is incredibly important.
Ivan Zhiznevsky, Founder & CEO at 3S Money
Find out more about why Ivan, Andrei and Eugene started 3S Money here.