Knowledge Is Power
Insights Into Growth
Welcome to Kode's Growth Study
For the third year in a row, Kode is conducting research on growth companies. Each year, we examine which factors are important for the success of companies. In 2022, we studied startup ecosystems, and in 2023, we looked into success factors in early-stage companies. In 2024 and 2025, we will explore the link between leadership and success. This is a larger study that will last until the end of 2025. In this study, we examine the influence of the leadership team’s personalities on the organization during a specific growth phase.
In this way, we aim to contribute to the knowledge of what is important for building companies. All our research is freely available on our website. At the bottom of this page, you can download the reports from previous studies.
2024 - Success Factors of Growth Companies
Our research this year focuses on growth companies. While in previous years we primarily focused on startups, this year we are interested in a broader group of companies. We want to understand the impact of the leadership team on the success of the company.
For this, we use our 360° assessment. This assessment maps out a company across four key areas. We examine the personality of the leaders in the organization, the maturity of the company, financial indicators, and the market in which the company operates.
In 2024 and the first half of 2025, we will collect data from over 100 companies. In the second half of 2025, we will analyze the data and publish the report
2023 - Success Factors for Early-Stage Startups
For this report, we approached founders of tech startups. We reached out to a sample of 1,000 leaders, and 104 participated in our survey. We interviewed them about 13 common success factors. Based on the data, we examined the relationship between these factors and the performance of these companies in terms of survival, development, valuation, and revenue.
Conclusions:
- Startups with a strong customer focus have 100% more revenue and a 62% higher valuation compared to companies showing less focus.
- Founders with experience as corporate executives raise 28% more funding compared to repeat founders but perform 5% worse. The founder's personality matters. The ability to adapt, share, and ask for help has more than 10 times the impact on valuation, revenue, and growth than experience. More than just good individuals, the right combination of people is what matters.
- Diverse teams are valued higher (+48%), grow faster (72%), and earn more money (81%).
- Startups that utilize external help perform significantly better (+88% valuation, 55% more revenue). Involving investors, formal advisors, and customers aids success.
- Valuation alone is not a great indicator of success; it is a good indicator of the amount of funding raised.
2022 - The Effectiveness of Start Ecosystems
For this report, we approached founders of tech startups. We reached out to a sample of 1,000 leaders, and 176 participated in our survey. We asked them about the assistance they received in the past 12 months, their priorities for the coming year, and where they need help. Based on performance data, we examined the relationship between the assistance companies received and the success of their business.
Conclusions:
- Tech startups are international. 20% of the companies have a non-Dutch founder. Only 12% of the founders are women.
- Startups do not grow in isolation. 86% of all startups have utilized external assistance in the past 12 months. T
- he ecosystem needs to evolve as startups grow. Ecosystems must adapt. Startups using external operational support perform significantly better.
- Startups from acceleration programs have 55% less revenue and 18% less growth.
- University startups fail 21% more often than other startups in the Seed phase.