Startup Next Steps
A practical course, designed for founders and senior team members looking to scale their product which is already live in the market, with active users.
The Winter ‘25 cohort will run from Wednesday 22nd January to Wednesday 9th April 2025 including two weeks away from the core content featuring deep dives and networking events, and a celebratory showcase on the final date. Applications now closed.
What is Techscaler Startup Next Steps?
Startup Next Steps is a practical course, designed for founders and senior team members looking to scale their product which is already live in the market, with active users.
The Winter ‘25 cohort will run from Wednesday 22nd January to Wednesday 9th April 2025 including two weeks away from the core content featuring deep dives and networking events and a celebratory showcase on the final date. Sessions will take place on Wednesdays 10am to 1pm.
Applications are open now! Apply for Techscaler membership to join the next cohort of Startup Next Steps.
Course delivery and format
Startup Next Steps sessions are highly collaborative, balancing lectures from industry experts, founders at different stages of the startup journey, as well as practical activities and group discussions to apply session teachings.
- 10 weekly sessions over twelve weeks
- No cost or equity stake involved, funded by the Scottish Government
- Mostly online, with weeks 1 and 10 hybrid (available both in-person and streamed)
- Cohort events and meetups with your fellow founders
- No grading or assessments, practical lessons that you can implement directly into your startup
- Applicants should be fully committed to working on their startup and consider their product their core work
Not sure if this is for you?
Join at Techscaler hub locations across Scotland
Hybrid - in person and streamed
We know how important it is to bring the community together and leverage the network effects of the ecosystem, so weeks 1 and 10 will be hosted in person, giving you the opportunity to connect with fellow participants. Location in Scotland TBC. Week 10 will end with a showcase event, giving you the opportunity to celebrate at an evening with your cohort peers.
Online only sessions
So you can join the sessions from wherever is comfortable for you, we’ll host the session via Zoom using a mixture of presentation, breakout room and interactivity. If you don’t have a suitable workspace available, we can help arrange a space for you to take part. We can also make space for participants to join from a hub if you need a quiet space with fast internet to take part.
Private group on community platform
Continue conversations, share milestones and support your peers as part of your exclusive Startup Next Steps cohort group on our online community platform. Keep up to date with the latest news about the course and share ideas and questions.
Additional content
Outside of the core content of the course, you’ll have the chance to engage further with a personal induction, regional events, speaker 1:1s and additional events.
Session recordings will always be provided so you can catch up if you're unable to make it to a particular session!
Participant eligibility & expectations
Startup Next Steps is designed for founders and senior team members looking to scale their product which is already live in the market, with active users.
- Founders and team members whose startup has reached problem-solution fit and is looking to capture a greater market share
- Founders and senior team members with a product in market and active customer acquisition who want to focus on growth
- Founders and senior teams from startups without consistent traction and revenue who are looking to mature their operations
- Ambitious founders with an early MVP in the market with active users, who want to grow their business quickly and learn from experienced operators
- A second (or more) time founder or startup operator at any of the above stages who wants to progress quicker and more efficiently this time round, with support
- To take part, you must have a product in market with active users
- Recommended knowledge level: Even if your business meets this criteria, you'll benefit from our earlier stage programme, Startup First Steps, if you're not familiar with or don't have a clear customer profile, value proposition, or understanding of jobs to be done theory.
- You must be able to attend (or catch up with recordings of) at least 6 out of 10 sessions
- You must be prepared to demonstrate progress you are making during the course, in the form of a video submission
Syllabus topics and outcomes
Startup Next Steps
Week 1: Growth and Leadership Mindset
1. Understand what's needed to lead a growing, innovative startup and team
2. Feel inspired and empowered to use the power of thought leadership as a way to position you and your startup as an industry expert
3. Reflect on your current mindset and leadership approach and consider how you want to lead your startup going forwardWeek 2: Business strategy
1. Understand the need for adaptable strategic plans for your product or your business
2. Discover the key components of product/market fit and how they interact
3. Learn how to plan for product/market fit and align your team's work around itWeek 3: Product fundamentals and how to grow
1. Understand how your product strategy fits into a dynamic product/market fit framework and how to plan a roadmap
2. Understand what factors can put your product under pressure as you grow and how to manage this
3. Learn how product-led growth applies to your startupWeek 4: Customer acquisition
1. Reevaluate your customer value proposition
2. Understand the variety of channels available and their use cases
3. Understand how to evaluate the best channels to enable your startup to scale in a cost effective wayWeek 5: Tech sales
1. Learn how to increase your revenue through the implementation of an efficient sales process
2. Build the skills needed to sell your technology and understand key buying signals
3. Develop the confidence to be the best sales person for your business and discover more effective techniques to help sales feel less scaryWeek 6: Growth mechanisms
1. Discover how short-term tactics for building traction evolve into sustainable growth strategies, including the concept of growth loops
2. Learn how activation, retention and associated churn contribute to your growth strategy
3. Discover how product-led growth can be used as part of a holistic growth approach in combination with more traditional sales and marketingWeek 7: Financial management
1. Learn the fundamentals of financial reporting, which finance expertise your startup requires, and how to understand your business through the numbers
2. Learn how financial management and business planning and growth work together
3. Consider the different funding options available and the impact these have had from various founders' experiences
4. Understand the importance of financial literacy for appropriately answering those important investor questionsWeek 8: Building a team
1. Understand why your early hires are so important, and what it takes to recruit, retain and motivate them to do great work together
2. Discover how to establish a positive workin culture early on and the importance of working on your culture continuously
3. Understand the importance of investing in the right people at the right time and how your people and business strategy need to support each otherWeek 9: Pivots, failures and exits
1. Understand different types of pivot, and why keeping a few alternative pathways to success in your back pocket is healthy
2. Discover the huge variety of possible outcomes for your startup, and what actually happens from founders who've been through it
3. Discover different perspectives of success and failure and start to apply this to your own mindset and startup visionWeek 10: Investor panel, pitching and networking
Celebrate the end of Startup Next Steps with an opportunity to pitch, a Q&A with a funding panel, and networking with ecosystem partners, other startups and investors.
Please note the course syllabus, format and duration is subject to change for each cohort based on participant feedback.
Join Techscaler
If our education courses are of interest to you, apply for Techscaler membership. Membership is for people working in startups who are at all stages of the startup journey, from ideation through to scaling phase, based in Scotland, and with ambitions to grow their business. Fill in the application form and Team Techscaler will get back to you as soon as possible to let you know your suitability for Techscaler membership and benefits available to you.
You can also keep up to date with our tech events and sign up to receive the latest news from Techscaler and the Scottish tech ecosystem.
