Ambitious Belgian scale-ups usually lack organizational maturity
Our scale-ups have solid products, but they struggle with structural organizational weaknesses that hinder their development. Although 37% of young companies strive for rapid growth, they score an average of 17 points lower than SMEs in terms of organizational maturity.
“Many scale-ups continuously invest in improving their products, but their growth stops as soon as complexity increases and success is no longer reproducible. Sustainable growth does not require even better products, but organizations that are ready to truly evolve,” says Sam Sluismans, National Leader of Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 program.
The tenth edition of the Rising Star Monitor—an annual survey conducted by Deloitte Belgium in collaboration with the Vlerick Scale-Up Centre—once again maps the performance of Belgian scale-ups in terms of crucial growth capabilities such as governance, finance, sales, talent, digitization, and AI. This year, 183 scale-ups with an average age of 3.4 years were examined. And where the problems lie is in the areas of governance, talent management, financial planning, and the evolution of sales and operations. There is a lag. This leaves a lot of untapped potential…
The ‘product trap’
The Rising Star Monitor is uncompromising. The average scores for critical growth capabilities remain low: governance scores only 43% among ambitious companies, talent management 50%, sales reproducibility 38%, and operational scalability remains stuck at 51%.
In general, our scale-ups keep a close eye on their finances, but they score significantly lower in the area of forecasting, which limits their ability to plan investments and recruitment in a timely manner.
The survey shows that sales and operational development remain weak, with limited standardization and automation, making growth difficult to replicate. The “product trap,” where product innovation is not accompanied by organizational growth, is a reality.
Financial maturity: from reactive to proactive
Although young scale-ups keep a close eye on their cash flow, their financial maturity often remains reactive. Proactive financial planning and forecasting are particularly weak, making companies less able to justify their strategic choices or prepare investments in a timely manner. The difference between scale-ups with and without external investors is striking: companies with external capital score 72% in terms of forecasting, compared to 57% for scale-ups that finance themselves entirely independently. This underscores the importance of external accountability for financial discipline.
“Financial discipline is the backbone of sustainable growth,” emphasizes Sam Sluismans. “Scale-ups that invest in future-oriented financial planning strengthen their ability to seize opportunities and manage risks.”
