TECHNOLOGY

44 companies from startup to the upper echelons of the Fortune 500 , have long since been replaced by processoriented executives with corporate backgrounds .

As someone who made the leap from the corporate world of management consultancy into the dynamic startup landscape , I know how difficult it is for companies to retain their dynamism as they transition from agile challenger to established incumbent . While many founders bemoan the lack of a level playing field when it comes to the resources available to large corporates , being small can be an advantage for innovative startups as they are neither too unwieldy nor too conservative to implement new ideas .

So , if the balance of power is currently tipping away from large corporates it ’ s worth asking what about startups makes them so innovative . Startups generally consist of a small team which means they can remain responsive to changes in the market . They also depend for their vitality on identifying new , more efficient methods which means they usually

— Ritam Gandhi , Founder and Director , Studio Graphene

make for more cost-effective enterprises . As private entities , startups can make decisions with the long-term in mind as they don ’ t have to worry about the impact of quarterly performance on their share price .

In my work with startups , I ’ ve seen how the need to break new ground affects the culture of many successful startups . Indeed , the most successful see their lack of scale as a virtue because it makes for clear-eyed decision-making .

AUGUST 2019