Tom Dunlop is co-founder and CEO of Summize, a CLM solution, and a former General Counsel for high-growth technology companies.
As a former professional badminton player, I know firsthand the intense focus and resilience required to excel in sports. Competing in a high-speed, high-pressure environment taught me to make the quick decisions necessary to grow a company while remaining strong in the face of setbacks. Just as only a small percentage of athletes make it to the professional level, many startups struggle to scale successfully.
Up to 90% of startups fail within 10 years, and only 30% to 40% make it from seed to Series A funding. Among those, only half successfully scale further, and an astounding 75% of venture-backed tech companies fail to deliver returns to investors. The comparison between business leadership and athletics underscores a hard truth: scaling up is not easy and demands a mindset forged through spirit, adaptability and strategic planning. If you want to grow, get competitive.
Setbacks As A Resiliency Win
The journey to becoming a large, successful company is littered with obstacles, which tend to be forgotten as win narratives take over. Despite being number one in the world for years, tennis legend Roger Federer only won 54% of the total points he played. His key lesson is that losing is part of the journey—don’t dwell on it.
This applies to business, too. If your path is devoid of challenges, you might not be innovating fast enough. Setbacks are not failures; they are indicators that you are pushing the boundaries. Learning from but refusing to dwell on failures keeps your business competitive.
Mark Milestones, Plan For Progress
A structured plan helps athletes gradually build their strength, speed and endurance, followed by a tapering period to ensure they’re fresh and recovered before a big event. Businesses can also benefit from setting stage-appropriate milestones that mark specific achievements and allow for strategic adjustments along the way.
For example, our company structures these milestones using what we call the ABCD objectives:
•A is for ambitious growth: scale revenue and expand reach.
•B stands for building a great business: create profitability and cultivate a strong culture.
•C represents customers who love us: prioritize customer satisfaction, retention and user experience.
•D focuses on disruptive innovation: focus on product development and transformative advancements.
These objectives help guide our focus at different stages of growth. For instance, in the early days, we centered primarily on product and growth milestones. As we scaled, we shifted to customer and business milestones. Now, as we grow further, our emphasis is on establishing a solid business infrastructure and enhancing the customer experience.
The Power Of Marginal Gains
Marginal gains can be transformative when applied correctly. In sports, small, incremental improvements in preparation—from diet and sleep routines to refining technique and mental focus—are necessary to reach the top. Seemingly minor adjustments (like improving reaction time by a fraction of a second or optimizing recovery methods) can provide an edge over time.
Businesses can adopt this approach with a culture that has every team member seeking small improvements in their daily tasks. We incentivize this behavior with quarterly awards for the best “1% ideas”—simple yet impactful innovations that boost efficiency. We share the improvements so employees are aware that these small gains can create substantial progress over time.
Being Comfortable With Change
In badminton, when a 200-mile-per-hour smash is coming your way, you must quickly understand why your opponent made the move and decide where to return it. This high-pressure adaptability is essential because athletes constantly face the unexpected yet can’t be thrown off their own game.
Just as they prepare for rapid shifts, companies must prepare for exponential growth and change, especially if you’re a tech startup. It’s not uncommon to double in size each year, which can mean doubling staff, customer base and product range.
This requires leaders to be comfortable with change and ready to evolve. Like an athlete who embraces unpredictability, leaders in a scale-up must stay agile, reinventing processes, team structures and growth strategies for an ever-shifting environment.
Empower, Trust And Collaborate
As a singles player, I had no one else to rely on. This was a mindset I struggled with as a founder.
Many CEOs believe they must be the best at every aspect of their business and are reluctant to delegate responsibility. This often leads to subconsciously hiring VPs or managers CEOs feel they can outperform rather than seek true experts who can bring exceptional skills to their roles.
Real growth and scale require a strong team of people who are, in fact, better than you. Hire accomplished leaders with the expertise your company needs and don’t roadblock them. Find leaders who have built and scaled startups before so you remain agile and better conditioned to work through growth milestones. As CEO, I surround myself with true experts whom I rely on daily for their expertise and knowledge to achieve our shared company vision.
Focus on your game plan—the competition may be baiting you.
A common pitfall for both athletes and business leaders is becoming overly fixated on the competition. Teams sometimes release misleading information to distract rivals—a psychological strategy designed to steer a company away from what might be working for them. When competitors chase these misleading tactics, they risk deviating from their own strengths and underperforming.
The same is true in business. If you’re constantly watching the competition and reacting, you’ll lose sight of your own goals and strengths. Keeping an eye on the market is necessary, but real success comes from staying committed to your vision and customer needs. Rather than following competitors’ moves, double down on what sets your business apart in ways that resonate with your audience.
Scaling a business demands more than just skill and ambition; it requires a strategic, resilient mindset. It’s about honing your own strengths and staying true to your vision. By focusing on your company’s core objectives and empowering your team to drive incremental, innovative progress, you can create a culture of sustainable, high-performance growth.
Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
