The numbers highlight the urgency: UK startups graduating from Seed to Series A within two years have plummeted from 12.5% in 2020 to just 4.5%. This decline hampers early-stage success, posing risks to innovation, job creation, and the long-term flow of investment into the tech sector. A sustained failure to address these challenges could compromise the UK’s leadership in the global technology landscape.

ScaleWise has pinpointed several root causes contributing to this crisis: misaligned go-to-market (GTM) strategies, costly recruitment errors, and operational inefficiencies within sales and marketing. Research from ScaleWise and its partners revealed some troubling trends:

• One in three B2B tech companies reported a misalignment between sales and marketing.
• The average tenure of a GTM leader is only 17 months, with each failed hire potentially costing up to 27x their salary.

With this merger, ScaleWise and Pug & Bear aim to tackle these challenges by offering a data-driven, diagnostic approach to aligning GTM strategies. The combined expertise of both companies will empower venture-backed software firms to secure funding at stronger valuations, reversing the downward trend in startup success rates and driving sustainable growth.

Key components of ScaleWise’s expanded service include:

• Data-driven diagnostics: A benchmark-based evaluation of startups' GTM strategies, offering insights into team performance, processes, and overall growth potential.
• Tailored interim leadership: Access to experienced GTM leaders on a flexible, on-demand basis, helping companies scale without the risks of long-term hires.
• Permanent GTM team development: Leveraging ScaleWise's deep network, the service provides access to top GTM talent, building high-performance teams and minimising recruitment errors.

By focusing on aligning sales and marketing through data and insights, ScaleWise is positioned to help UK startups overcome the funding gap and lead the next wave of growth in the technology sector.

“We’re not just solving a graduation crisis; we’re reshaping how early-stage startups approach growth,” said Tom Glason, CEO of ScaleWise. “Munya Hoto and his team at Pug & Bear bring a fresh strategic vision to our mission, and together, we’re ready to guide the next generation of founders toward success.”

Munya Hoto, who steps into the role of Chief Strategy Officer at ScaleWise, where he will lead ScaleWise’s diagnostic product delivery, set the strategic vision and spearhead ScaleWise’s marketing community, added: “The data tells us that traditional approaches are no longer enough. Startups need smarter, faster, and more aligned sales and marketing operations to navigate today’s challenging funding landscape. Our combined expertise is the strategic force founders need to overcome these obstacles.”

Notion Capital, a prominent backer of high-growth startups, strongly supported the ScaleWise and Pug & Bear merger. "As a serial founder and member of the VC community, I do see the graduation rate challenge with many early stage startups struggling to secure additional funding in order to scale. Having known both Tom and Munya for over 25 years combined and seen them operate at this stage, I believe this merger is a powerful and important much-needed innovation in the market." said Chris Tottman, Partner at Notion Capital.

“With ScaleWise and Pug & Bear joining forces, startups will have the right sales and marketing expertise to navigate the funding landscape successfully. We’re excited to see the impact this powerhouse team will have.”

Live-EO, a fast-growing software company specialising in satellite data analytics, is already benefiting from the combined expertise of ScaleWise and Pug & Bear. "Working with ScaleWise and Munya has transformed our approach to both sales and marketing. Their strategic insights and execution have been crucial in accelerating our demand generation and ultimately our growth," said Sven Przywarra, CEO of Live-EO.

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