Are peer-to-peer relationships key to helping startups break through the £1M ceiling?

First, getting to this point means that it’s better able to achieve economies of scale that can help to increase profitability. With more revenue, the business can invest in new products, expand into new markets, and develop new sales channels, all of which can help to drive profits higher.

Secondly, businesses that have gone past £1 million in revenues have increased credibility. That’s because it’s seen as established and, therefore, more trustworthy by customers, investors, and partners. That means more opportunities to grow and scale.

Another big benefit is access to talent. Make no mistake, there are people out there willing to take a risk (and it is a risk) on working for a business that’s in the early stages of its growth journey. But once it gets past the £1 million revenue mark that risk feels, well, a lot less risky. As a result, the available talent pool opens up considerably.

Acceleration through support

Of course, a business could get there on its own; plenty of companies have done so over the years. But it’s a lot more likely to get there with the right support and mentorship.

Whilst the importance of connection and network is no radical or new idea, the network success hypothesis has been around for decades. The hypothesis states that those entrepreneurs with a “broad and diverse social network and who receive much support from their network are more successful”. Since this publication, many others have expanded upon the notion to unpack its many nuances, but the fact still remains; network and community are fundamental. In fact, we need only look to, well, all of history to understand the impact human connection has on cultures, societies, politics and of course economies.

But now we exist in the modern day, having survived a pandemic which cost us these valuable connections. Now more than ever, entrepreneurs need to value those around them to help forge the success they have dreamed of.

Finding like-minded individuals hoping to push their business past that £1 million mark is essential to your being able to achieve it too. Moreover, connecting with those entrepreneurs who have already exceeded on this journey offers access to direct learning, mentors, and a peer-to-peer network, whether formal or informal. I should know too. I’ve experienced it first-hand.

In 2019, I joined the EO Accelerator. Run in more than 50 cities around the world, the EO Accelerator is a learning plan for entrepreneurs who want to grow their business beyond £1 million. It also allows access to direct learning, mentors, and a peer-to-peer network.

As a result, I scaled my market research agency to become a full EO member in 2020. That, in turn, has given me access to the most incredible network of entrepreneurs who have experience in a seriously diverse array of fields. I learn something in every meeting, at every gathering, and through every blog that EO organises and puts out.

Entrepreneurship is often seen as an individual pursuit, but like everything in human nature, it requires connection and collaboration to succeed. Thousands have already proved the success of networks, now it is up to the next generation of entrepreneurs to seek them out, wherever they may be.