What is really holding growth back?
The recurring patterns behind stalled growth, squeezed margins and a business that keeps pulling the founder into everything.
A masterclass for founders of established businesses
What will it take to grow from here?
Three years working with South African companies. The patterns we see, the decisions that matter, and how founders and leadership teams move forward together.
Join us in Johannesburg20 places · Founders & owner-CEOs of established businesses
WhenThursday, 8 October 2026
Time09:00–11:00 SASTCoffee and snacks from 08:30
WhereSaxon Hotel, Sandhurst, Johannesburg
The room20 founders. A real discussion.
Why this conversationYou have built an established business.
You have built an established business.
There is more in it.
You have customers, a leadership team and people who depend on the business. Perhaps growth is stretching the organisation. Perhaps turnover is rising but profit is not. Or the business has reached a plateau, and working harder is no longer moving it forward.
We have spent the last three years working with founders and leadership teams in South Africa on these challenges. This masterclass shares what that work has taught us about changing a company’s trajectory.
A small room, practical experience and time for your questions. Bring the challenge you are actually dealing with.
What we will exploreTwo hours.
Two hours.
Questions worth asking.
We will connect what we have seen in South African businesses with the decisions in front of you.
What changes when the team takes ownership?
How clearer direction, stronger leadership and consistent follow-through can change the way a company grows.
How does the ScaleUp approach help?
Where Scaling Up provides structure, where entrepreneurial judgement matters, and how we bring the two together with a leadership team.
What does that mean for your business?
Time to question the approach, compare experiences with other founders and think through your own next move.
The aim: a clearer view of what deserves your attention next, and whether our approach could help you make progress.
The approach behind the discussionA useful framework.
A useful framework.
Experience in the room.
Our work combines Verne Harnish’s Scaling Up methodology with the experience of entrepreneurs who have built and led companies themselves.
We work with the founder and the leadership team together. The value comes from applying the approach to the choices, people and ambitions of that particular business.
01
People
A team that can lead the next chapter.
02
Strategy
Clarity on where to focus for growth.
03
Execution
Decisions that turn into progress.
04
Cash
The financial strength to move forward.
Your host
Nicholas Thiede
I have built and led companies, made difficult calls and experienced what it takes to hand more responsibility to a team. Today, I work with founders navigating their own next chapter.
This session draws on three years of ScaleUp’s work with South African companies, alongside the experience of our five coaches. All have led businesses themselves; four have exited a company.
Four companiesBuilt and led
Semigator AGExited
15–170 peopleBusinesses Nicholas has led
Who this is forDifferent businesses.
Different businesses.
Shared challenges.
Twenty places for founders navigating the complexity of an established business. Different sectors, with shared responsibility for teams, performance and what comes next.
- You are a founder or owner-CEO of an established South African business.
- You lead through a management team, with people responsible for different parts of the business.
- You are managing the challenges of growth, or want to get growth moving again.
- You are making decisions about people, priorities and investment that will shape the next phase.
Johannesburg · 8 OctoberBring your ambition.
Bring your ambition.
And your questions.
Join Nicholas and a small group of fellow founders at the Saxon Hotel.
We run these sessions so founders can get to know our thinking and decide whether working together is worth exploring.
ScaleUp founder masterclass
20 places at the table.
Thursday, 8 October 2026
09:00–11:00 SAST
Saxon Hotel, Sandhurst, Johannesburg
Coffee and snacks from 08:30
Final agenda to be confirmed
Reserve your seat 09:00–11:00 SAST
Saxon Hotel, Sandhurst, Johannesburg
Coffee and snacks from 08:30
Final agenda to be confirmed
Registration closes once all 20 seats are filled.
Questions? Email us