5 Characteristics of Scalable startup entrepreneurship

Vinay Nagaraju
3 min readMar 13, 2023

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Scalable startup entrepreneurship characteristics: In this article, we will talk about some of the key qualities of scalable entrepreneurship. As founders, we love the idea of creating a unicorn that can disrupt the world. Although fascinating, even a unicorn follows the characteristics of scalable startup entrepreneurship. Let’s have a look at some of the most common qualities of such startups.

Scalable startup entrepreneurship characteristics

Scalable startup entrepreneurship (Source)

Before delving into the details of the qualities of a startup, I’d like to start with the definition of a scalable startup. A scalable startup entrepreneurship is defined as a business that relies on high-growth, scalable products/services. The startup is a company that brings unique offerings into a market. Any new or emerging business that has a high potential for growth is a startup.

You can find more details of the meaning of a scalable startup in the hyperlink. The characteristics of such a startup are:

  1. Large Total Accessible Market (TAM)
  2. Unique selling point (USP)
  3. Low customer acquisition rate
  4. Low attrition or churn rate
  5. Funding and runway available

I’ve restrained myself to 5 scalable startup entrepreneurship characteristics. There are more that will help such as market penetration, product-market fit etc. However, they all follow a similar flavour of these 5 themes.

Large Total Accessible Market (TAM)

A startup is mostly about its potential and capability to scale. A global large accessible market is bound to interest investors and potential early adopters too. Although it needs to be a large TAM, it also demands that your product has the ability to capture this. The best way to support the claim for a large TAM is your niche area and unique selling point.

Unique selling point (USP)

A unique selling point is one of the most powerful scalable startup entrepreneurship characteristics. It differentiates you from the rest of the market and gives an indication of why you’ll have a greater chance of success. A USP tells both customers and investors how your product or solution is different from the rest of the competitive landscape

Low customer acquisition rate

Any business will love the idea of a low customer acquisition rate. It is the amount of money you spend to get a customer. For an investor, this automatically means that your costs will be low, indicating larger profit margins and EBITDA. Eventually, this will mean huge payouts when you’re considering your exit strategy.

Low attrition or churn rate

Most founders dread the idea of a churn rate. We all know that getting a new customer is far more expensive than holding on to an existing one. Although churn is natural, it means that you’re losing customers. If the churn rate is greater than the industry, it’s an indicator that something might be wrong with your business.

Funding and runway available

The harsh truth or characteristic of any scalable startup entrepreneurship is the dependence on external funding. Until a startup reaches a stage of self-sustenance, this will continue to be a health checkpoint and characteristic to rely on. Naturally, the longer runway you have, it exudes more trust in your business.

Originally published at https://inspire99.com on March 13, 2023.

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Vinay Nagaraju

Product Director, Expertise in 0 to 1 Product Development, Entrepreneurship and Startups - Teaching and Lecturing on Technology Led Business