Our tool to understand your growth stage, the challenges you are facing, and the solutions available to help scale your business.
Our unique position has given us a lens through which to understand how brands grow, the challenges they face, and the support they will need to progress.
We have created a 7-stage model which we use to understand and advise brands effectively. We have built our in-house services with this insight in mind.
The full Growth Model details the needs and opportunities for brands at every stage of growth based on their revenue run-rate.
In Growth Stage 7, as you talk more about the value of the business and its eventual sale or continued investment case, you are focused on demonstrating a story of global scalability and replicability. Growth, revenue and EBITDA become the core measures of success.
In Growth Stage 1 you are testing your product and brand proposition with feedback from both your buyers and your consumers. It involves setting your business up for scale, establishing your brand strategy, setting your commercial strategy and beginning to win your first accounts.
In Growth Stage 2 you have validated your product and brand in market and are starting to build traction. Stage 2 is focused on distribution gains in multi-site operators and establishing a scalable model. It is common for the Stage 1 bootstrapping to begin to show cracks in the form of unexpected costs and supply chain failures. The founder can no longer do everything.
In Growth Stage 3 the drive for distribution gains in Stage 2 has won you some larger accounts. The focus now splits into optimising and managing those accounts while also winning new ones. New channels are tested and international is explored. Working capital becomes more constrained and the team and corporate affairs take up more time.
In Growth Stage 4 you are constantly hiring but generally departments are stable. You are in most major target customers and all attention is on seeking distribution and range gains. The international business takes shape and becomes a material driver of revenue. Big supply chain and product projects drive margin gains. The leadership team stabilises and growth capital comes in.
In Growth Stage 5 you are focused on omni channel strategy at this stage - driving online sales, expanding into new routes to market and going deeper into key international markets. Revenue is the primary driver - new categories are explored and range expansion is planned. The business formalises core processes and often early employees leave at this point.
In Growth Stage 6 your product range is expanding and moving cross-category and cross-occasion to create more purchase occasions. Your brand is close to a household name in the UK and all focus is on driving revenue and scale. Nationwide distribution exists in at least 1 additional market.
In Growth Stage 7, as you talk more about the value of the business and its eventual sale, you are focused on demonstrating a story of global scalability and replicability. Growth, revenue and EBITDA become the core measures of success.
Brands in our Community benefit from meeting with our Growth Managers. We help them to work through their plans to growth, and share insights from our Growth Model.
Although revenue is the top-line driver, sustainable growth requires a strong grounding across People, Marketing, Supply Chain, Product, Operations and Investment – not just Sales. We help brands to understand these variables, and where to invest to maximise opportunities for growth.
Get in touch to speak with one of our Growth Managers, and discuss how we can help the growth of your business.
If there is a specific service you would like to use, visit the Services page for more information.
I went for lunch the other day with a senior leader from the worlds’ biggest retailer and, when we asked what they look for in the brands they scale with, the answer was “founders that genuinely hear other perspectives”.
Bringing it back to first principles means to step back and ask the question ‘why’? It means creating space in the working week to think. It means starting with a blank piece of paper.
Bringing it back to first principles means to step back and ask the question ‘why’? It means creating space in the working week to think. It means starting with a blank piece of paper.
We had a quick chat with Mel Thompson, YFs Talent Resourcer here at YF, and asked her to describe her average day, the highs and lows in the world of recruitment, and most importantly, her favourite lunch choice.
In the meantime, why don’t you
follow us on Linkedin :)
Our Preferred Suppliers are a selection of businesses that we have vetted and trust to recommend to our brands. We have negotiated discounts or deals with many of them.
Access to the list and discounts is a benefit to Community members only.
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