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The Growth Program

Promoted by

Porto Business School

Together with

Associação Porto Digital

Due to the current constraints caused by the COVID-19 pandemia, The Growth Program’s timeline is being adjusted. New dates will be announced when possible.

The Growth Program

What are some of the key challenges companies face as they look to accelerate growth?

When scaling, companies have specific requirements for capital, management, skills and organisational processes.

Finding support in building leadership capacities, developing sales strategy and processes, structuring access to funding and building the proper processes, will help companies scale in a sustainable manner.

What can be done to provide more support for companies who have survived the startup phase and are looking to grow?

The Growth Program launches a challenge for growth, supporting exciting and ambitious businesses to create or consolidate a strong business model, a clear growth strategy and the commitment to implement useful changes for development on areas such as sales, operations, team management and finances.

Together with national and international reference experts, companies will learn, define and implement strategies, owning their path towards growth.

To Whom

For Scaleups and Small and Medium Enterprises that show:

  • Credible company management, committed to define and implement new strategies;
  • Commitment to actively participate in the program and motivation to implement valuable changes;
  • A team able to define, implement and follow defined strategies;
  • The vision of technology as a leverage to improve a value proposition and processes;
  • Evidence of past growth and future growth potential;
  • High ambition and growth potential.
  • Learn
  • Share
  • Plan
  • Implement
  • Grow

A 3-Step Model

Skills Development [ 8 weeks ]

A comprehensive training program with online and onsite sessions for founders and managers, to stimulate organizational change and evaluate long term strategic opportunities.

In partnership with The Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology, the premiere institution at UC Berkeley for the study and practice of entrepreneurship and technology innovation.

Covered topics include Strategy, Innovation and Internationalization, Oganizational Models and Governance, Growth Culture, Business Modeling, and Fund Raising Options, supporting:

  • Scalable business model design;
  • Customer discovery in growth journeys;
  • Customer decision complexity;
  • Customer acquisition, retention and growth;
  • Definition of strategy and metrics that matter;
  • Right-sizing and “right-skilling” the team at different Stages of Growth;
  • Networking, Storytelling, pitching;
  • Investment readiness.

With

Mark Searle

Lead Instructor

Elizabeth Saunders

Assistant Instructor

Roadmap for growth [ 12 weeks ]

A diagnosis is performed, followed by an interactive definition of an intervention plan co-designed by founders, C- Levels and external experts.

This phase follows the EY Growth Navigator Methodology (EYGN), designed to consider specific industry characteristics. It is highly scalable and applies to companies in several stages of growth. With EYGN, the company and the business will be analysed considering 7 drivers of growth:

People, behaviors and culture

Digital technology and analytics

Operations

Customer

Funding and finance

Transactions and alliances

Risk

What to expect

  • A diagnosis of the current status of the company will be performed, as well as the main opportunities for growth will be identified;
  • A plan will be defined for growth strategy and market leadership;
  • A 8-hour workshop will be performed for each participant team to support the process;
  • A report will be produced and discussed with each company to define next steps;
  • One executive and one senior member will be responsible to follow this process.
Tailor-made Consulting for Implementation [ 32 weeks ]

As a result of Step 02, each company will have a roadmap for growth aggregating and scheduling a set of initiatives to promote business development.

Executive and senior EY members will be available to follow each company in consulting, supporting the implementation of practices that will lead to growth.

What to expect:

  • Each company will have 64 hours of consulting available, from executive and senior EY members;
  • These hours will be used according to individual needs identified together in the roadmap for growth and follow-up plan;
  • The experts will be attributed according to their competences and to the company’s needs.
Mentoring and Peer Learning

Along the project, ScaleUp Porto and Porto Business School will promote monthly mentoring and networking sessions within the cohort, but also with external professionals.

What to expect:

  • Mentoring sessions in one-to-one basis with C-Level experts;
  • Networking activities with the Porto Business School and ScaleUp Porto networks;
  • Promotion of peer-learning sessions within the Growth Program cohort.
Investment
€25,000

One-year program, including:

  • Online and offline training
  • Diagnosis and Roadmap definition
  • Consulting for implementation
  • Mentoring and peer-learning

 

3 members per team can participate in Phase 01

No limits for phases 02 and 03

Promoted by

Porto Business School

Together with

Associação Porto Digital

Contacts

General:

thegrowthprogram@scaleupporto.pt

Applications and Billing:

thegrowthprogram@pbs.up.pt
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