Startups

Lessons I Have Learned About Scaling a Business as a Startup Founder

Published

6 years ago

Dec 4, 2020

Image Credit: Unsplash

When I set out to start my own business three years ago, I never imagined bright lights and private jets to New York or Shanghai for business meetings. Good thing I didn’t because it is nothing like that at all. It was a struggle from day one and I had to embrace the grind to grow.

This is probably why today, my company has offices in four countries across Asia. We started from a humble place and are still growing. We have a long way to go, but I have learned some crucial lessons as a company founder headquartered in Singapore, which is Southeast Asia’s startup hub.

One of the things that benefited my business and my personal journey as a founder, was honest accounts from others who had taken the journey before me. That’s why I will be sharing some key takeaways that can be applied by small businesses looking to expand their scope across countries and regions.

Pick the right time rather than the first opportunity

It reads like a textbook rule, but this is a fundamental principle that any business founder needs to follow when planning their growth. Think very carefully about the right time to expand internationally. Your staff, financials, and product all need to be in order, and you should ensure you have done your market research thoroughly.

One of the things I see most entrepreneurs get wrong is their budgeting. Do not underestimate the budget allocations required to expand in your new region and sustain growth in your home market. Your expansion should not come at the expense of the work you have already established.

“Scaling is only difficult when you grow your organization like a tower instead of a city.” – Jurgen Appelo

Valuing partnerships

As entrepreneurs, we need to do better at supporting our peers. Relationships between business starters can be soured by various factors: jealousy of success, placing value only on the opportunities offered by leads or contacts, and lack of shared experiences once businesses have varying levels of success.

However, it is important to understand that collaborations and partnerships can be extremely valuable in helping business starters to overcome many hurdles they face, not only in terms of shared knowledge but as a therapeutic support network for a job that comes with a unique set of stresses and challenges. We need to work harder at building each other up and becoming a valid resource of support.

Partnerships are also the most cost-effective way to scale and generate business in my experience. My network has been instrumental in generating revenue at the beginning and also during the pandemic, which was critical to us being able to weather the storm and come out stronger.

Being an agile business

If 2020 has taught us anything, it is that stability should not be taken for granted; the entire world can turn upside down alarmingly quickly. While businesses have continuity plans that allow for a sense of preparedness, it is also vital to think flexibly and be open to pivoting quickly when a crisis strikes. Agility is the key to survival and scaling.

Bass & Flinders Distillery in Australia is an excellent example of being agile, especially in such trying times. This startup adapted immediately to the circumstances of the pandemic, working first to produce hand sanitiser and then focussing on online sales and virtual tasting sessions to cater to a house-bound market. Through swift adaptations, they were able to survive a pandemic that has been devastating for the hospitality industry.

Understanding that each market is different

The importance of fully understanding the market where you intend to move cannot be understated. A product that works in one region will not necessarily work in another. Sometimes costly adjustments are needed. Other times you may need to design a completely new product to meet a similar market need.

By their nature, businesses that are operating locally will have a deeper understanding of the local market. Expanding startups will need to grapple with this if they are to flourish in their new environment – remember success in your home market is no guarantee of success elsewhere.

Many of these challenges can be reduced by doing effective research. Make sure you are getting information from accurate sources and have conducted proper testing.

Investing in ground-based teams

Related to the previous point, it is crucial to have teams on the ground in all your operating locations wherever possible. We have teams in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and India- every single market where we have clients. These ground-based teams have proved invaluable in ensuring that we provide our clients in each market with a seamless service. I meet frequently with each of these teams, (virtually or physically) to maintain our strong collaborative relationship.

While there are cases of successful companies being able to sell or provide services without being there in person, I find that in my experience and industry, having local knowledge and expertise is paramount. Trying to expand in countries without fully understand the local nuances is a challenge and an expensive one at that.

“The gap between what’s expected and what you deliver is where the magic happens, in business and in life.” – Jay Baer

Do not let irrelevant things hold you back

Sometimes it may seem that a lot of things need to be in order to get any startup running, let alone expanding the business across countries. This can be a stumbling block of a lot of people who never actually get their startup or business off the ground.

To better understand this, I spoke to a great entrepreneur, Mathew Stillone, on my podcast Business Over Drinks, about his protein empire that started off from a garage and now makes products for supermarket giants across the globe. Prioritize your focus on your product and generating sales. Learn to prioritize. Producing a solid product and making sales is far more salient than realising your dream office space, for example.

Expanding your small business into new markets can be an exciting way to grow your business. Expansion to new markets can be daunting, but by ensuring you have the right product, budget, and have done thorough research, you can set yourself up to prosper across multiple locations.

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Terng Shing

Terng Shing is the Founder and CEO of SYNC PR, a PR and content marketing startup that uses technology to reduce time-wasting and administrative tasks in delivering results. Based in Singapore, Terng Shing has been focused on helping startups and SMEs build their brand story through media and content. Most recently Terng co-founded Travel Wanderlust, a travel-based community platform to share information with travellers from around the world and introduce new experiences to people. He is also the co-host on the popular business podcast - Business Over Drinks - which seeks to bring humour into real business conversations.

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Startups

How an LLC Can Help Shield Your Personal Assets

Published

3 weeks ago

Aug 1, 2026

Addicted2Success Editor

Image Credit: Addicted2success

You are a freelance designer, and your client sued you over a trademark mistake. If you believe that your personal savings are safe, then you may be wrong. You are operating as a default sole proprietor. You and your business are the exact same person. As a result, your personal bank account, your car, and even your home are legally up for grabs.

However, if you start an LLC, you can build a legal shield between your business liabilities and your personal life. These days, you can easily form an LLC online.

How Does This Legal Shield Work

When you start an LLC, your business gets a distinct legal identity. Now, your LLC can open its own bank accounts, sign contracts, take out loans, buy equipment, and be held responsible for its own actions. You are not liable. This boundary between you and your business is called the “corporate veil.”

Visualizing the Separation

Inside the Shield (Business Assets)

Everything your company owns is included in this shield. If your business faces a debt collector or a lawsuit, only your business assets are at risk, such as:

Money in the business bank account
Inventory and raw materials
Office equipment, computers, and company vehicles
Business intellectual property

Outside the Shield (Your Personal Assets)

You don’t have to worry about your personal assets, such as:

Your personal checking and savings accounts
Your home and personal real estate
Your family vehicles
Your retirement funds (401k, IRA) and personal investments

What LLC Protection Covers

Business Debts and Contracts

When your LLC signs a commercial lease, hires a contractor, or buys inventory on credit, these are the obligations of the LLC. Your creditors will come after the assets of the LLC if your business can’t pay.

Lawsuits

If your business is sued over a contract dispute, faulty service, or an operational issue, lawsuits will be filed against your business. All your personal assets are safe.

What LLC Protection Does Not Cover

Personal Torts

The term “tort” refers to an act that causes harm or injury to someone else. The LLC shields you from the mistakes of your employees and general business liabilities. However, it never protects you from your own personal actions. For example, if you personally commit fraud, you can be sued personally.

Personal Guarantees

Vendors often hesitate to lend money to new, growing businesses. Such businesses don’t have long credit histories. Lenders often require you to sign a personal guarantee.

How Owners Accidentally Destroy Their Protection

The legal shield provided by forming an LLC only works when you run your business properly. The corporate veil can be pierced when a court decides that your LLC is not legitimate and strips away your protection in a lawsuit. This usually happens when you make one of the following three mistakes.

Commingling Funds

Many small business owners often mix their personal money with their business money. You are commingling funds when you use your business debit card to buy your personal groceries or you deposit a client’s payment directly into your personal checking account. The legal wall crumbles when you don’t treat your business and personal finances as completely separate.

Missing an Operating Agreement

An operating agreement is the legal document that outlines:

How your LLC is run
Who owns what percentage
How profits are handled

If the creditor’s lawyer finds out that an operating agreement is missing, they may argue that your LLC is just a shell.

Falling Out of “Good Standing”

When you start an LLC, you must file annual reports and pay franchise taxes to keep it active. The state will place your business in “Administrative Dissolution” or bad standing if you miss any of these deadlines. You could lose your limited liability protection if you operate a business under an inactive or dissolved LLC.

Startups

Move Fast without Breaking People: Product Safety Lessons for Ambitious Startups

Published

1 month ago

Jul 15, 2026

Addicted2Success Editor

Image Credit: Addicted2success

Fast growth can hide product risks until customers get hurt, especially when safety comes late in development. A software bug can be patched, but a chair, charger, or smart device can cause a burn, fall, cut, or crash.

For founders moving from a prototype to mass sales, the cases handled by Michael Kelly Injury Lawyers in Boston show why launch goals should not push testing, warnings, and foreseeable risks aside. A product claim can involve the design, how a unit was made, user instructions, or several firms in the supply chain.

Why Minimum Viable Should Never Mean Minimally Safe

A minimum viable product should test whether people want an idea, not how much danger they will accept. Teams can delay colors or premium finishes, but not guards, safe heat limits, sound wiring, or clear instructions.

Set Safety Rules Before the Build

The product brief should define who will use the item, where, and what could happen during setup, cleaning, storage, wear, or mistakes. It should also consider what a child, guest, tired worker, or first-time buyer might do.

Shared rules help teams move faster. Designers know which guards must remain. Engineers know which parts cannot fail. Suppliers know what cannot change without review.

Test How People Really Use It

A neat demo is not the real world. Users place products on wet counters, soft rugs, or rough ground. They skip a guide, use the wrong cable, or handle an item in unexpected ways.

Testing should cover misuse without predicting every extreme act. When a risk can be reduced through a guard, lock, stop switch, or clear signal, that design change is often greater than a warning alone.

How Design and Manufacturing Risks Differ

Some risks are built into the design. Others arise when production fails to match the approved plan. Teams need to identify the source before choosing a correction.

Design Problems Start with the Plan

A design problem can affect every unit. A base may tip, a blade may sit too close to a hand, a control may activate too easily, or a battery space may trap heat.

Final inspection cannot repair a flawed plan. The team may need a new shape, shield, limit, material, or control, followed by testing before more units ship.

Manufacturing Problems Break the Plan

A manufacturing problem occurs when a unit or batch does not match the approved design. A fastener may be missing, a weld may be weak, a wire may be damaged, or the wrong component may enter production.

Good records help define the scope. The team should know who made each part, which batch used it, what checks occurred, and where units went. Fast trace work can keep one fault from becoming a wider crisis.

When Customer Feedback Signals More Than Dissatisfaction

Support teams hear about delays, difficult setups, strange sounds, and refunds. Most reports are routine. Yet heat, smoke, sparks, breakage, sharp edges, sudden movement, falls, or failed guards require review.

Treat Complaints as Safety Data

One report may lack key facts, but similar reports can reveal a pattern. Staff should record the model, batch, date, use, photographs, and outcome, then alert someone who can pause sales or order testing.

Teams should not blame unusual use before asking whether another reasonable buyer could make the same choice. A support ticket can be the first sign of a hazard that lab testing missed.

Preserve the Product and the Record

After an injury, the product can help explain what failed. A repair, disposal, or undocumented test can remove evidence. The same applies to old labels, manuals, test files, customer messages, and design notes.

Startups should keep relevant items safely, record who examines them, and preserve earlier versions of instructions and warnings. This history can show what changed and why.

Why Warnings Must Reflect Real Use

A warning works only when a user notices it at the right time. Dense text at the back of a manual may not help during setup. The message should name the hazard, explain the harm, and state what reduces the risk.

Placement matters too. A charging risk belongs near the port. A weight limit belongs where weight is added. Even so, warnings should not replace a safer design when the hazard can reasonably be removed.

How Founders Can Preserve Speed without Cutting Safeguards

A delayed launch, redesign, or recall can feel like defeat. In practice, early action can prevent harm, protect trust, and give the team better facts for the next version. The strongest startups move quickly because their systems protect people.

When a product injures someone, legal guidance can help preserve the item, collect design and manufacturing records, identify responsible companies, and examine whether a defect or unsafe choice caused the harm.