Is the team ready for growth? GSAI startups strengthen their foundations for scaling
Does the team have the foundations needed to scale? During the third GSAI sprint, startups in batch 2 explored this question alongside international experts in marketing, sales and team performance. For the GSAI programme, helping founders assess and strengthen their internal organization is a key part of preparing for growth.
On 15–16 September, startups from Sweden, Finland and Estonia gathered in Tallinn for Growth Essentials, hosted by Tehnopol.
Building the foundations for growth
A scalable business model allows a company to grow revenue without costs increasing at the same rate. To support that growth, founders need to consider how their teams make decisions, share responsibility and maintain focus as customer numbers increase and new markets open. What foundations are already in place, and what needs to develop before the next step?
– “AI can deliver real impact when it helps customers solve problems and creates tangible business value. Growth ambitions need to be matched by the team’s ability to deliver. This sprint helps founders explore whether their organization is ready for the next step – with clear responsibilities, shared priorities and ways of working that support growth,” says Jini Nälsén, Project Manager and Business Coach at Movexum.
Expert insights into marketing and sales
Growth marketer Mariliis Uibomäe helped participants explore market entry, testing assumptions and using AI in marketing.
– “If AI does not help you grow revenue, reduce costs or learn faster, it is probably just another shiny toy in your marketing stack. Use AI to speed up testing, then scale only what the market proves is worth scaling,” says Mariliis Uibomäe.
Do customers like the idea or will they buy it? Kalev Kaarna, a former investor and startup coach now working in R&D sales at Metrosert’s Applied Research Centre, focused on customer discovery, B2B sales and positioning. He challenged participants to distinguish encouraging feedback from genuine buying intent by exploring customers’ actions: when they last experienced the problem, how they addressed it and how urgently it needs solving. Even a strong solution can struggle to sell if the problem it addresses is low on the customer’s list of priorities.
Strengthening team performance and focus
On the second day, consultant and author Stoyan Yankov guided participants through team performance using the PERFORM approach. Founders explored shared purpose, values, priorities and planning, and compared their current use of time with an ideal working week.
So, what makes a team ready for growth? A shared direction, clear responsibilities and the ability to turn priorities into everyday action are important foundations. Readiness also means understanding which customers need to focus on and how the organization can meet increasing demand efficiently. The sprint helped founders examine these foundations in their own companies and identify what they need to strengthen before scaling further.
Next stop: turning insights into growth plans
The fourth and final sprint takes place in Salo, Finland, on 2–3 February 2027. Participants will draw on their learning about market discovery, AI development and scaling to refine their growth plans and define concrete next steps.
About the program
GSAI – Growth and Scaling Through AI – is led by Movexum in partnership with AI Sweden, Yrityssalo and Tehnopol. It supports startups in developing their businesses through AI and preparing for new EU markets. The program is co-funded by Interreg Central Baltic Programme and Region Gävleborg.
Applications for the next GSAI batch will open in February 2027.