From Startup To Scaleup: How Founders Must Evolve To Lead

If you listen to podcasts or scour the web, there’s a plethora of advice for people looking to start a business. From the sheer volume of talking heads, you’d assume that taking the leap to founding a company was the hardest part. But it really isn’t. That’s because anybody can launch. The real challenge is in growing from one product for one market, to multiple products across many markets—from startup to scaleup.

Scaling isn’t just growing; it’s fundamentally transforming how you think as a leader and how you operate the business. For tech founders, the initial stages are often about building a product that doesn’t break, but at the scaleup phase, it’s structuring a company that truly works. From the team culture that is instilled throughout the workforce, to efficient processes that solve problems rather than create them, the details make the difference.

As a startup founder, the day-to-day is caffeinated instincts and hustle. But that approach doesn’t cut it as a scaleup—you need to be able to delegate to a reliable team that can close sales and be trusted to use their own intuition, with leaders who can quickly spot potential risks. It becomes apparent that you need a different skillset to evolve from founder to regional CEO.

Shifting Parameters

There are some key differences in mindset between startup and scaleup. At the initial stages, a business is looking for any kind of traction for their products, but as the company grows, that shifts into repeatability—can you do the same thing again and again to attract and retain? Business processes and structure thus become crucial, and they replace the chaotic nature of startup culture.

The first demands of finding a product-market fit gradually make way, replaced by an obsessive desire to ensure your organization is well-structured enough to effectively operate and grow in the market. For the MENA, this is particularly challenging, as there are potentially four different time zones, completely different regulations, and multiple languages. Despite this fragmentation, a strong scaleup leader understands how to standardize certain processes across the business, and localize aspects where needed per market.

Now, if you get it right, becoming a regional player comes with serious advantages. By leveraging cross-market presence in a positive manner, businesses can benefit from deeper customer insights, stronger regulator relationships and partnerships, and potentially by raising deeper funding.

Infrastructure That Accelerates Scaling

At my company, Fuze, we have seen firsthand the advantage of launching in the UAE. It has emerged as the financial, regulatory, and operational backbone for MENA startups going global. In 2024, a total of 188 startup deals worth US$613 million were recorded, with international investor participation up 56 percent year-on-year. US-based funds represented 42 percent of that international capital. Now, mega-initiatives like the Abu Dhabi-based MGX AI Fund (with a $100 billion target) are attracting frontier tech like artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, deep fintech, and more.

Ecosystems in the UAE are also built to be supportive of tech founders. Licensing zones like Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) provide 100 percent foreign ownership, zero income tax, and easy visa processes, while programs at Abu Dhabi’s Hub71 and Dubai Chamber provide a range of grants, equity-free incentives, mentorship, and support.

For businesses, supportive environments like these help in scaling faster, smarter, and more sustainably. When expanding to other international markets too, entities such as Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) co-invest alongside top-tier venture capital firms, and build specialized industry clusters that enable international growth through tailored resources and expert guidance

Evolving While Staying Agile

Founders also need to scale and adapt with their organizational growth. Too often, founders fail to scale with the company, holding on too tightly to control, fearing delegation, and failing to install the processes needed to navigate growth. The reality is that a company operating with 50 or 100 people should not be operating in the same way as a startup with a few employees. Scaleups must have institutional-level processes, while maintaining the agility and innovation that helped them grow initially.

Moving from a startup to a scaleup thus requires vision, processes, and personal evolution. The MENA is changing at a rapid pace and, in many sectors, leapfrogging mature markets because of better investment and intelligent ecosystems. Within this dynamic environment, the homegrown startups that will thrive are ones where their founders can shift their mindsets from scrappy hustlers to strategic regional leaders.

“For tech founders, the initial stages are often about building a product that doesn’t break, but at the scale-up phase, it’s about structuring a company that truly works.”

About The Author

Mo Ali Yusuf is the co-founder and CEO of Fuze, a pioneering digital assets infrastructure provider operating across the Middle East, Turkey, and beyond. Raising more than US$25 million over 12 months, Fuze has transformed from a single-market digital assets startup to a fully-fledged, multi-market scaleup offering a comprehensive suite of financial infrastructure.