10 Strategic Priorities for the Next Generation of Scale-Ups

Scaling a business is never linear. It’s a constant balancing act of ambition, adaptability, and execution. As investors in over 60 UK growth companies, we at YFM see firsthand the patterns that separate companies that scale smartly from those that stall. 

The future is increasingly shaped by product-led thinking, AI-enabled decision-making, flexible talent models, and meaningful impact. For founders and leadership teams looking to navigate this landscape, here are 10 strategic priorities and how some of our own portfolio companies are tackling them. 

One of the most powerful trends shaping scale-up success is the shift to product-led growth. Traditional service-heavy models are giving way to platforms where the product itself drives adoption, engagement, and expansion. 

Take Fleetclear, a YFM-backed business that transitioned from a service-led approach to a scalable, product-first fleet safety and asset tracking platform. Fleetclear rebuilt its customer journey around user-driven onboarding, real-time value delivery, and self-serve insights, allowing them to grow faster with fewer barriers to adoption. 

Why it matters: In a PLG model, the product becomes your best salesperson. When executed well, lower customer acquisition cost (CAC), shorter sales cycles, and improved customer stickiness all follow. 

AI adoption is no longer optional. It is the engine behind smarter scale-ups which can deliver enterprise-grade experiences with lean teams. The winners in gen AI will be those who embed LLMs into their core workflows and value propositions. 

From AI-powered decision support in Plandek to automated, conversational software testing in AutomatePro, YFM portfolio companies are embedding generative AI to reduce costs, personalise experiences, and enhance productivity. 

Use cases: Personalised customer journeys. Rapid prototyping and product iteration. Predictive analytics to forecast customer churn. The goal? Free teams to accelerate innovation and focus on customer value.  

Post-COVID, hybrid and remote-first companies are defaulting to a borderless talent model. This gives scale-ups access to top-tier talent at pace, without the constraints of geography or cost-heavy HQs. 

However, remote work demands intentional investment in tools and culture. This is something Vypr excels at with its distributed development team. They have implemented strong internal systems for async collaboration, objectives and key results, and feedback loops, which are now critical to performance and team project work. 

Lesson: Flexibility attracts talent, but culture and career development opportunities keep them. 

Customers, investors, and employees increasingly expect scale-ups to prioritise ESG and sustainability, not just as box-ticking, but as core to brand and value proposition. 

From emission tracking integrations to ethical supply chains, businesses that operationalise sustainability, from day one, build more trust and future-proof themselves against regulation and reputational risk. 

Opportunity: Integrate ESG metrics into your board reporting and OKRs. It’s not just the right thing to do, it’s a growth lever. 

Scale-ups that build feedback loops into every part of the business win faster. From product and marketing to finance and hiring, decisions should be grounded in real-time data, not gut feel. 

YFM portfolio companies like Plandek empower leaders with continuous delivery intelligence, enabling faster, evidence-based decisions. Others, like Vypr, leverage real-time consumer validation to de-risk go-to-market strategies. 

Takeaway: Invest early in internal business intelligence capabilities.

As scale-ups grow, so does their attack surface. Whether you’re storing health data, financial information, or IP, cyber resilience must scale alongside product velocity. 

Best practice: Zero-trust architecture, multi-factor authentication, continuous employee training, and regular penetration testing. Think of it as insurance for your reputation.

The most resilient scale-ups are adaptive, not prescriptive. Markets move fast. Founders need to embrace iteration, quick pivots, and lean innovation. 

Plandek didn’t wait to be perfect. They tested with real users and used usage data to evolve the product. That’s how smart scale-ups beat larger incumbents: with speed, not size. 

Advice: Bake learning cycles into every department, not just engineering. 

Strategic partnerships can be a fast-track to new markets, customers, and capabilities, but only when aligned with your core objectives and product vision.

Take Xapien, for example. Originally focused on simplifying due diligence through AI, Xapien has expanded by forging partnerships with professional services firms and large corporates who use its platform for onboarding, compliance, and risk profiling. One such collaboration with  Dow Jones, for example, helped opened the door to enterprise-level adoption, positioning Xapien as a scalable solution in sectors like legal and financial services, where rapid, reputational checks are business critical.

Framework: The right partner should not just extend your reach—they should enhance your value proposition. If it doesn’t create net new value for your customer or product, it’s probably a distraction.

Scaling companies often push their teams hard, but burnout doesn’t scale. Retention, culture, and productivity are all tied to how well you support your people. 

YFM-backed businesses are increasingly embedding mental health support, flexible benefits, and career development as non-negotiables, not perks. Happy teams increase productivity. 

Question to ask: Is our people strategy as scalable as our product strategy? 

As scale-ups mature, new markets and product lines become essential for reducing risk and fuelling long-term growth. 

Over [x] YFM portfolio companies have expanded internationally in the past [x] years, including Vypr, which extended its consumer panels beyond the UK to support global brands.   

• Tip: Build with future flexibility in mind. Even if you’re launching in one market, structure your product so it doesn’t assume only one currency or language. You don’t need to build the full stack – just avoid decisions that make it hard to add later.  

The future of scaling isn’t about racing to a unicorn valuation, it’s about building thoughtful, adaptable, and resilient businesses. Whether you’re a B2B SaaS company embedding AI to transform professional services like Xapien, or a data-driven platform rethinking how insights are delivered, the fundamentals hold true:

• Obsess over your product
• Invest in talent and culture
• Make decisions with data
• Stay agile, but aligned
• Choose partners that help you scale, not stall

At YFM, our Entrepreneur Lab exists to support UK founders in scaling wisely, not just quickly. Because sustainable growth isn’t a singular moment of lift-off. It’s a series of smart, strategic steps, each one setting the stage for the next.