Frog Capital

At Frog we help purpose-driven, European software companies scale. Now we have created How to Scale ai to help more business leaders, faster. Over the past 6 years Frog's team of Operating Partners have produced over 100 toolkits, podcasts, articles and videos in our 'How to Scale' library, as part of our Scale-Up Methodology to help software companies scale.   Now we have put them all together in a ring-fenced, customised generative AI tool to make it as simple as possible to get the information you want. https://lnkd.in/eHgWMQVt Huge thanks to Andrew Betteley, James Bagan, Susannah Nicklin, CFA, John Sutherland, Steven Dunne, Sonia Powar, Mike Reid, Jens Düing, Amanda Stainton, David Williams, Dawn Marriott, Martin Leuw, Adam Hale, Dale Murray, John Lord, Michael Kent, Linsay Duncan, Sebastien Blanc, Matthew Elson, Kimberly Baker, Nick Eades, Shirin Dehghan FREng, Richard Grundy, Chris Rhodes

Here’s an answer to the important question of 'How do I build my sales function during scale-up?', generated by our new AI search engine using our toolkits and podcasts created by James Bagan, Jens Düing, John Lord and Nick Eades. To build a successful sales function during scale-up, consider the following key takeaways and recommendations from Frog Capital's resources: John’s Top Takeaways for Scaling Your Sales Operation: Customer Perspective: Look at the value proposition from the customer’s perspective. Ensure your business is easy to work with. Quality of Work: Maintain outstanding quality in all external written work. Professional Sales Managers: Hire experienced sales managers who can hire well, coach effectively, and set clear expectations. Culture: Prioritize building a strong culture. Outcome-Based Marketing: Target marketing efforts on outcomes, such as leads. Sales Environment: Create an environment where salespeople can be successful. Measure What Matters: Focus on pertinent metrics for individuals. Adaptability: Be prepared to adapt plans as needed. Avoid Early Elephant Hunting: Focus on owning a segment before targeting large, resource-intensive deals. Embrace Technology: Don’t hesitate to try new technology to streamline the sales process. Building a Sales Function: Value Proposition: Clearly understand and articulate your value proposition, including the problem it solves and the quantitative value it adds. Personal Responsibility: Hire individuals who take personal responsibility for their prospecting while collaborating with marketing. Process Ownership: Manage the entire customer journey from qualification to renewal with rigor and regular reviews. Celebrate Success: Celebrate actual deals, not just forecasts, and ensure rewards are linked to desired outcomes like profit. Data Trust: Trust and embrace data; properly implemented technology can help, but culture is key. Plan B: Always have a contingency plan to cover unexpected events. Customer-Centric Thinking: Think like your ideal customer and map the total market for your offer. Additional Insights: Holistic Approach: Implement a holistic approach to sales processes, integrating sales, marketing, and customer success. Frameworks and Analysis: Use frameworks and data analysis to guide decisions rather than relying on intuition or gut-feel. Regular Reviews: Conduct regular reviews and assign field activity targets to ensure continuous improvement and alignment with customer needs. By following these guidelines, you can build a robust and scalable sales function that drives growth and success during the scale-up phase.

Great to see Frog portfolio company Oxford Medical Simulation making such a difference to the student learning at the College of Health and Science, University of Lincoln. Well done to Michael Wallace, Jack Pottle and all the team.

In episode 8 of Frog’s How to Scale podcast, we are proud to introduce Amanda Stainton, Frog’s new Operating Partner focused on People and Culture. Amanda has spent the last 18 months contributing to due diligence projects and supporting some of Frog’s portfolio companies. She has over 30 years’ experience leading people and culture teams across a wide range of blue chip businesses and is now focused on the importance of people and culture in the growth stage. The People and Culture function is a strategically important part of Scale-Up alongside Product, Sales, Tech, Marketing and Finance provided it is executed properly. Far from pink and fluffy. The critical success factor is how it is aligned and integrated with the business as a whole. Initiatives have to show value and benefit and be clearly linked to business objectives. Amanda covers 3 key focus areas in the podcast to help Scale-Ups get the best out of People and Culture initiatives, which are: Culture – how do we design the culture, understand what it has been and what it needs to be – People and Culture teams are the custodians and ensure synergy and consistency, but leadership deliver it. Values need to be documented, explained, displayed and lived How to attract and retain people – robust processes are required. Recruitment can be very time consuming, and rightly so – businesses and talent need to choose each other and do it well. Investing time improves diversity, which is a catalyst for strong performance Performance management – managed fairly and consistently to help people achieve their potential and develop a sense of fairness across a business, not overly bureaucratic, but still robust. Set clear expectations, get and give feedback, and find opportunities to develop and grow. Check out the full episode wherever you get your podcasts or on the Frog website. https://lnkd.in/dpD_afc8

The Frog team are excited to welcome Amanda Stainton as our latest Operating Partner. With over 30 years’ experience leading People and Culture teams, she has already begun adding real value to the companies we invest in and contributing to our library of Scale-Up toolkits and podcasts, How to Scale. Amanda has been working with us over the last 18 months to support our portfolio in building the best people and culture teams to drive Positive Growth. You can listen to her podcast episode on our website, and we will post a clip here tomorrow! https://lnkd.in/eS_GepcG

How can I manage performance effectively during scale-up? To manage performance effectively during a scale-up, consider the following key strategies: 1. Adapt to Changing Goals Flexibility: Ensure the performance management process can adapt to changing goals. Millennial Expectations: Recognize the need for flexible working environments, meaningful work, and recognition from bosses. 2. Move Beyond Simple Metrics Collaborative Efforts: Understand that the outcome of tasks is increasingly due to team efforts rather than individual efforts. Beyond KPIs: Go beyond obvious Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and describe good and bad behaviors within the performance management system. 3. Set Clear Standards Behavioral Descriptions: Clearly describe expected behaviors to genuinely improve organizational performance. Confidence and Freedom: Build staff confidence in knowing the right actions, allowing for greater freedom of action. 4. Leadership by Example CEO Role: The CEO should lead by example, being open to feedback and committed to addressing development needs. Transparency: Senior management should be transparent about personal underperformance and develop paths to address it. 5. Link Goals Alignment: Ensure a clear link between the company’s goals and individual goals. Documented Process: Maintain a documented process that is regularly followed up and forms part of continuous interaction between the company, leaders, and individuals. 6. Continuous Interaction Ongoing Interaction: Provide a structure for ongoing interaction between leaders and colleagues, linking organizational and personal goals. Adaptability: The process should be adaptable to changing goals and expectations. 7. Build a Supportive Culture Mentorship: Encourage the use of mentors or coaches to help leaders and employees develop. Fairness and Transparency: Promote fairness and transparency throughout the company. By implementing these strategies, you can create a performance management system that not only meets the needs of a growing organization but also fosters a positive and productive work environment.

The purpose of organisation structure is to order your resources in such a way that you are able to deliver your strategy. According to Frog Operating Partner John Sutherland, “Most businesses have structures that lag behind their strategy and have the net effect of slowing down progress against plan. Getting the structure right is like taking the hand brake off”. There are other structures besides hierarchy, but it is the dominant form and the default approach for CEOs as businesses grow. This toolkit from John and Senior Partner Steven Dunne includes useful insights to know whether your current organisation could benefit from an autonomous approach and whether your scale-up business is on the right track to having a clear purpose. Download the toolkit today from the Frog website. https://lnkd.in/es_bZ5Gy

Go to Market strategy and execution play a huge part in the success of any software business, particularly at the Scale-Up phase. That’s why it is an important part of our due diligence process. Due diligence is not just a means of verification, but an opportunity to add significant value, build strong relationships and agree a robust plan going forward. The overarching goal is helping businesses to improve the performance of their commercial operation, in a controlled fashion. In this How to Scale toolkit, Frog’s Operating Partner James Bagan and friend of Frog Linsay Duncan outline how we execute GTM Due Diligence, what is covered across Marketing, Partners, Sales and Customer Success, how we conduct due diligence, interviewing commercial stakeholders, how we identify risks and opportunities, and what to include in the data room. https://lnkd.in/ep3vGzEw

At Frog we help purpose-driven, European software companies scale. Now we have created How to Scale ai to help more business leaders, faster. Over the past 6 years Frog's team of Operating Partners have produced over 100 toolkits, podcasts, articles and videos in our 'How to Scale' library, as part of our Scale-Up Methodology to help software companies scale. Now we have put them all together in a ring-fenced, customised generative AI tool to make it as simple as possible to get the information you want. https://lnkd.in/eHgWMQVt

We caught up recently with Frog Senior Partner Mike Reid to hear his thoughts on AI in the software sector. At Frog, we are on the front foot in supporting our portfolio companies to navigate the AI promise/threat, and we are ourselves developing ways to harness its power. Now, we have created How to Scale ai to help more business leaders, faster. Over the past 6 years Frog's team of Operating Partners have produced over 100 toolkits, podcasts, articles and videos in our 'How to Scale' library, as part of our Scale-Up Methodology to help software companies scale.   Now we have put them all together in a ring-fenced, customised generative AI tool to make it as simple as possible to get the information you want. Why not ask How to Scale ai a question today. https://lnkd.in/eHgWMQVt