A recent survey of 500 UK business leaders reveals a concerning trend: UK tech firms across the country are struggling to scale. Thirty-one percent have cited high operational costs as a major hurdle, while 42% can’t secure funding from private equity and other sources.

As a result, UK tech is falling further and further behind global competition, which is likely why the best founders continue to move overseas. If you’re a founder, you may wonder whether you should do the same.

But scaling a successful UK tech firm is still possible. It just requires you to think outside the box.

By following these five strategies, you’ll not only avoid common (and costly) pitfalls but also discover untapped opportunities to take your business to the next level right here in the UK.

Your product isn’t everything – focus on storytelling

Tech firms often rely on their product or service to sell their business to customers and clients, and who can blame them?

They’ve spent years accelerating sustainability or improving productivity in new and novel ways. So, they’re bound to be buoyant about their potential.

However, rarely is a product or service ever going to convince customers alone.

Take AI companies, for example. Despite an explosion of interest and investment, only a handful have managed to truly break through. Most are indistinguishable from each other, while trust remains a major barrier to widespread acceptance of the tech.

As leading PR agencies note, the problem is that many startups undervalue storytelling — often overprioritising product development when they should be crafting a narrative that emotionally connects with audiences and embeds the company within current issues and trends.

Innovation can only go so far. But a strong founder story can last a lifetime.

Marketing and PR go hand-in-hand

When tech startups can’t acquire customers or clients, they tend to increase their marketing spend.

They begin experimenting with unproven strategies and target the wrong demographics, which is partly why over half of all startups fail.

Their grave mistake? Neglecting PR, which, other than being budget-friendly, allows startups to improve their credibility by appearing in the thousands of tech publications that now exist.

In turn, they’re unable to improve their online search results and generate organic content to repurpose for other channels and maximise engagement. In terms of pure optics, they’re unable to prove they’re in tune with their industry and exist for more than making a profit, which is essential in the modern day.

The fact that PR goes hand-in-hand with marketing, by amplifying the performance of campaigns and vice versa, is perhaps the biggest loss — and it’s time more startups realised this.

Don’t undervalue HR

A startup’s first recruits should always act as a foundation for growth. They design products and services, deliver them, and more importantly, keep customers and clients happy.

Yet, many startups overlook this basic principle, opting to outsource, mainly out of convenience. Not only is this costly, averaging between 15-30% of a candidate’s first-year salary, but the risk of poor hires is notably higher due to a lack of oversight throughout the entire process.

Worse still, the added cost and time associated with finding new replacements can compound the problem.

Ultimately, this is why all startups should focus on hiring themselves. If they did, they’d identify far more relevant, appropriately skilled, and motivated talent — and become more accountable when hires don’t work out.

In turn, employees would develop stronger connections to the business and become committed long-term, which is what all startups need.

Don’t lose your identity

As tech startups scale, it’s very easy for them to get lost in evolution and lose their identity. This can happen when teams expand, new products and services are launched, or the business enters new markets.

Within weeks, competitors find a way to steam ahead.

Why? They’ve continued to make every decision with their brand in mind, no matter how operations have grown in complexity, ensuring both they and their audiences perceive them in the same way.

This is more common than you might think — and it initially stems from complacency.

The solution? More oversight across the business, from sufficient company meetings to dedicated line managers, to keep teams aligned as they grow and ensure the startup’s brand image is maintained to a high standard, ensuring longevity.

Avoid over-innovation

You’re probably reading this thinking, “How can a tech firm over-innovate?”. But in reality, over-innovation is very much a thing.

It might mean delaying a product launch because you’re waiting until the perfect moment to release your tech. Or it can mean introducing new services before you’ve perfected your original offering.

In any scenario, you’re going to unnecessarily waste resources and complicate the business, hindering any long-term success.

So, here’s how you can avoid over-innovation in a few ways:

• First, understand that perfectionism doesn’t work. You’ll miss your window of opportunity – and you’ll likely regret it later.

• Second, leverage data and audience feedback to ensure you’re products and services are as robust as they can be, and more importantly, in demand.

• And third, never play all your cards at once. Keep some of your best ideas in reserve as a strategic move when one of your products or services fails.

As a tech firm, you’ll always be expected to innovate. But that doesn’t mean you need to reinvent the wheel all the time.