Securing startup funding is a milestone in building a business, but executing the strategy that sold investors in is where the real work begins. It takes a combination of seasoned leadership paired with growth strategies to manage venture debt to profitability. Here’s what to know about the journey ahead.
In today’s digital landscape many companies have been successful in transitioning from the idea stage to raising funds from investors. It is often the next step in fulfilling the expectations of investors that causes the problem. There is a need to scale startups to the required user base or revenue level that leads to the failure of promising companies.
The challenge for startups that receive funding is that investors in the current tech landscape have high expectations and they are often working with a team that is inexperienced, under the assumption they will use their capital to rapidly scale their current operations. Everyone is looking for the next unicorn. Most startups have large gaps in their expertise, and the ability to scale rapidly is often missing. It is tough to find a team that can execute this effectively.
One marketing firm in Europe has come to fill this niche, specializing in scaling high potential startups. Disrupt Digital has helped high potential startups raise over $113 million in collective funding. The firm identifies companies looking to grow past their first round of fundraising, satisfy current investors and reach the next stage. The team has focused on tech clients from disruptive industries such as blockchain, AI and other areas where there is a need for specialized digital marketing expertise and the possibility of changing an entire industry.
They take these startups and enable them to build scalable growth models based on AI and other marketing technologies. This allows a small inexperienced team with a great idea to grow faster than their established competitors who have large teams and greater resources. This gets VCs and investors excited when they see rapid growth and this is the 'proof of concept' that attracts large scale funding.
Capital brings them to that next level. Yet, what’s the real issue at hand? Are they implementing or planning on implementing strategies that allow for actual results that would reflect expected ROI? Disrupt Digital is revolutionizing the way startups grow, by being the go-to company to make this happen.
Founders Clare Kennedy and David Costello bring over 18 years of combined digital marketing experience working in some of the most exciting and disruptive startups in Europe. They are also directors of Silicon Valley accelerator Founder Institute and Female Founders, as well as mentoring for a range of startup organizations, which has allowed them to support and connect with the startup ecosystem.
One of the key components to growth in startups is the makeup of the team and their ability to utilize growth systems and implement strategies. They offer support when creating the ideal marketing team for each startup through its network of mentors and advisors. This is one of the main reasons they identify as contributing to their success. Unlike most agencies, it creates a long-term connection with their clients. Disrupt Digital can then leverage these connections to create a support network among their clients, further contributing to growth. As they say on their website, ‘We like to do things differently.’
It’s this combination of original approaches to emerging digital marketing challenges that have created the mercurial success enjoyed by Disrupt Digital in the last two years. They are helping to reshape marketing for the most cutting-edge sectors of the tech industry and bring some exciting projects into prominence.
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This article was written by Ilker Koksal from Forbes and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.
The views of the author of this article do not necessarily represent the views of First Republic Bank.
