I'm a former small-business owner who now manages 16,000 employees. Here are 5 common pitfalls I avoided when scaling up my company.

Everise is valued at $1 billion.

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• Sudhir Agarwal founded Everise in 2016 with a team of four employees in Singapore.
• Now, his company employs more than 16,000 people in eight countries.
• He outlined five common mistakes small-business owners make as they try to expand.
• This article is part of "Unlocking Small Business Success," a series providing micro businesses with a road map to growth.

This as-told-to essay is based on an interview with Sudhir Agarwal, the founder of Everise, which runs outsourced customer service for other firms. It has been edited for length and clarity.

In 2016, I left my job as the CEO of an IT consultancy to start my own firm — Everise. We were a small team at the time, with just four people in Singapore.

Our goal was to disrupt what was and still is a very traditional customer service industry by investing in technology and new talent.

We started by acquiring an outsourcing company that was losing money, and had around 7,000 employees in 2017. We managed to stabilize in two years, and in 2020, Brookfield bought a majority stake in our company at a valuation of $1 billion. 

But it was during the COVID-19 pandemic that we really saw a pivot in growth. We shifted 95% of our employees to remote work within weeks. Everise now employs 16,000 people in eight countries, and our headquarters are in Florida.

Here are five common mistakes I see new business owners make when they try to expand their companies, and what I do to address them.

1. Not paying close enough attention to the quality of people you hire when scaling up

When startups and small businesses are in their early stages, manpower becomes a pressing need. Many business owners start hiring rapidly so they can meet demands.

This is a common mistake that can lead to more cost for the business in the long term. Hires who are poor cultural fits or simply cannot perform their roles cost the team more in terms of morale.

I have kept my focus on building a No. 1 team. I've been in the outsourcing business for 25 years. I leveraged that experience when I started Everise, making calls to leaders in the industry and hoping some would leave their jobs to join me in my vision. 

One such person who joined me is our current chief people officer, who's been working with me for 15 years. Today, we have a below-average attrition rate among our 16,000 employees.

2. Not putting employees first, in favor of prioritizing customers

No business owner aims to do this from the outset, but the pressures of owning a small business can distract from what's most important — your people. When I started Everise, one thing I was very clear on was that we will never miss a paycheck for any employee.

I'm really proud we were able to achieve this, though it certainly wasn't easy. The business we acquired that would become Everise was at the time loss-making. It took 24 months for us to stabilize. So there were months where I had to dip into my own pocket to ensure staff were paid.

3. Building too many layers between top managers and employees

Communication shouldn't always be top down. The most valuable feedback comes from your frontliners, those who are on the ground with customers on a daily basis.

One of the reasons I started Everise was that I was tired of dealing with needless bureaucracy. Here, everyone has a direct line to me. If there are any signs of blocks emerging anywhere, we kill it.

These foundations were set in place very early and remain core pillars today. Happy employees equate to happy customers.

4. Micro managing: It takes a team, not a one-man show, to sustain a successful company

Micro management is never sustainable.  

I learned this the hard way in 2018. It was easy to micro manage a small business, but as we grew and made some acquisitions, it became clear that wasn't going to work.

Sudhir Agarwal (fourth from right), celebrates at the opening of Everise's office in Bogota, Colombia.

Everise

Successful entrepreneurs and businesses are where they are because of the teams that support them.

My mantra has always been to hire people who are smarter than me so I can learn from them, especially when hiring leaders in your organization. When you have strong leaders, good talent will follow.

5. Not 'partying' as hard as they work

This is a bit tongue in cheek, but leaders have to invest the time in getting to know their people socially. Not everything is about business. Enjoy the process, and grow your network of connections along the way.

I organize after-work dinner and drinks with employees and business associates, so they can get to know each other outside of business settings.

 

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