‘Scaling is tricky, what got you here won’t get you where you want to go’
Small business development specialist Edge Growth is proud to announce the launch of The Art of Scale, a book written by Edge Growth co-founder Jason Goldberg. This compelling, hands-on guide celebrates the profound advances in South Africa’s and other African SME ecosystems over the last decade, as well as Africa’s contribution to thought leadership on growing businesses and the community that makes it all possible.
This book extends the Art of Scale online scaling platform, which was in development for several years, with the final phase completed last year. This tool provides founders and CEOs with guidance at every step of the business scaling process. It provides in-depth analysis of a business and produces a fully customised scaling plan with clear and attainable priorities for strengthening and restoring control of a business to unlock growth.
“60% of young South African adults don’t have a job, and many will never have a job. I see this as one of the greatest tragedies of our time,” Goldberg said at the Johannesburg book launch which took place on Thursday, 29 January at Exclusive Books in Hyde Park. “This challenge has haunted me for two decades and is why I wrote this book. We need more jobs and more opportunities for our youth. Struggling entrepreneurs are our heroes and we need more of them and we need to help them”.
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa are the engine of economic growth, contributing significantly to the country’s GDP and job creation, with over 98% of businesses in the country classified as SMEs.
The Art of Scale condenses extensive scale-up expertise from a network of experienced leaders, coaches, and the top 120 business growth books, as well as key insight from Goldberg who himself has spent twenty years scaling businesses by providing essential funding, expertise, and strategic support.
Goldberg has a post-graduate degree in Sustainable Development and has worked as an Electrical Engineer and as a strategy consultant at Bain & Company, where he relentlessly pursued scalable solutions to combat poverty. This drive led him to co-found Edge Growth in 2007, an SME development solutionist dedicated to creating quality livelihoods and fostering impactful growth in Africa by scaling small businesses. Edge Growth has collaborated with leading multinational corporations to fund and support thousands of small enterprises. This book expands Edge Growth’s existing scale-up support ecosystem, bringing it to a global audience.
Focusing on proven principles, leadership models, and actionable tools that successful scale-up leaders apply daily, this book provides a lot more practical advice rather than theory, or as Goldberg calls it “just in time” know-how. Coupled with over 50 free online tools, this scale-up guide is what entrepreneurs need to grow with confidence and clarity to turn their vision into a reality.
The book is structured into six parts: The science of scaling, strategy, team building, execution, finance, and leadership. Designed for growth-stage companies navigating the 10 to 200 headcount range and catering for the important differences faced by emerging market businesses, this comprehensive guide demystifies the obstacles to scale, with real-world stories seamlessly integrated throughout.
Visit https://artofscale.io to find out more about the valuable resources offered by the Art of Scale digital business scaling platform or click here to order The Art of Scale https://artofscale.io/book/.
