If you’re running a startup, that first wave of growth is exhilarating.
You’ve built a great product. You’ve gained early momentum. And now, investors are paying attention.
But keeping that momentum going? That’s where things get harder.
Investors don’t just back great ideas (though that helps). They want to see execution. More specifically, they need you to demonstrate a clear ability to scale efficiently, build strong operations, and deliver on your revenue strategy.
And yet, this is where many Series A and B startups hit bottlenecks. Hiring gets messy. Workflows expand but lack structure. Financial forecasting becomes reactive instead of strategic. And if you’re expanding internationally, the complexity multiplies overnight.
To grow at speed, startups need the right infrastructure to:
- Expand into new markets quickly, without excessive cost or regulatory headaches.
- Hire the right people, anywhere in the world, without delays or compliance risks.
- Build scalable HR operations that support a global workforce.
But having the right infrastructure starts with the right tools. The right systems don’t just remove friction—they allow you to scale faster and focus on growth instead of getting bogged down in operational headaches.
From hiring to financial planning, here are five essential tools that will help your startup scale efficiently and ensure you remain attractive to investors.
1. Employer of Record services (EOR)
EOR services have been growing in popularity for startups looking to expand internationally. In the past five years, they’ve presented an exciting alternative to setting up your own entity in another country.
Why an Employer of Record can help you scale faster
Working with an employer of record essentially removes all the complexity of hiring globally. An EOR simplifies and handles every aspect of hiring & onboarding employees, payroll, taxes & ensuring compliance with local employment laws.
Using an EOR also makes it easier to keep costs at a minimum as you scale. The upfront fees offered by EOR companies makes it easier to gain transparency and control over your hiring costs as you scale.
For startups, EORs make it easier to test a market before committing to a long-term presence. It also frees you up from the burdens of having to navigate complex employment laws at a time when your HR team capacity may still be sorely limited.
Recommended tools
If you’re evaluating an Employer of Record provider for your business, it’s important to ask yourself these questions.
- Can your Employer of Record support you in every country where you’re looking to hire, especially those where EORs are more tightly regulated?
- Will this EOR be able to easily integrate into your existing HRIS tech stack, essentially ensuring that it’s growing around your business, and not the other way around?
- Will you and your team get access to full service customer support and expertise that can help you navigate those really knotty global employment issues?
These are just some of the reasons that more scaling Series A & B startups are choosing Omnipresent in 2025.
- As well as offering Employer of Record & contractor management services, we also offer PEO and VEO services in those countries where you already have a legal entity or the traditional EOR model is more tightly regulated.
- We’re dedicated to providing global employment support that’s embedded and integrated into your existing HR workflows, rather than moving you onto a global HRIS system.
- We’ve been rated for our award-winning customer support & onboarding, helping you set up a global team in days, not months.
2. Applicant Tracking System (ATS)
Hiring the right talent is crucial for scaling. And not only do you need to hire the right talent, you need the capacity to find, recruit and onboard that talent quickly.
That’s why the next item on our ‘grocery list’ for scaling startups is an Applicant Tracking System (ATS).
ATS tools automate some of the key recruitment tasks that would otherwise overwhelm a small HR function at a startup company. These include
- CV/resume screening
- Candidate tracking at every stage of the hiring process.
- Interview scheduling & co-ordination.
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Many Fortune 500 companies will use their own ATS systems, but it’s worth looking for ATS solutions that are more designed for startups. Teamtailor is an example of an ATS platform that is trusted by rapidly scaling companies.
3. Equipment management
In the early days of a startup, handing out a few laptops and software licenses is easy enough to manage. But as your team grows—especially if you’re hiring remotely—keeping track of company-owned devices, software subscriptions, and access permissions quickly becomes chaotic.
Who has which laptop? Is that expensive software license still being used, or is it sitting idle? What happens when an employee leaves—do you know exactly what needs to be retrieved or deactivated? Without a system in place, these small operational details can turn into costly inefficiencies and security risks.
An equipment management tool helps you:
- Know exactly what devices and software each employee is using, no matter where they’re based.
- Automate requests for new equipment and ensure employees get what they need without delays.
- Avoid wasted spending on unused subscriptions and maintain compliance with software agreements.
- When an employee leaves, retrieve devices and ensure an otherwise smooth onboarding.
For startups scaling quickly, these tools prevent unnecessary costs, reduce security risks, and keep operations running smoothly—so your team can focus on building, not dealing with IT headaches.
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Here too, startups with global expansion ambitions need to be looking for equipment management solutions that are going to be tailored to managing a global or distributed workforce.
For example, companies like Growrk have equipment management solutions that span over 150 countries. Not only can you procure and send your global employees the office equipment they need in a matter of seconds, but Growrk also makes it easy to track, manage and retire office equipment as your global workforce grows.
4. Project management software
Startups thrive on speed and agility. But as your team grows, so do the moving parts. Tasks pile up, deadlines slip, and projects that once felt manageable suddenly feel like a tangled mess.
Before you know it, important work gets buried in email threads, Slack messages, and scattered spreadsheets. The results may sound painfully familiar to you. Team members are duplicating efforts, and critical deadlines are slipping through the cracks.
Without a centralised project management tool, you run the risk of having to manage scaling chaos, not a scaling company. That’s why investing in the right project management software early is crucial.
There’s no single solution here. Finding the right project management software is often a question of finding the solution that best fits the needs of your team and the type of work you’ll be doing.
Let’s look at a few examples
Recommended tools for smaller startups
Trello
Best for simple, visual task management, Trello’s card-based system means it’s good for teams where deep collaboration is key. Trello is a good solution if you’re looking to scale out a global engineering team, as its UX is tailor made for sprints and time limited projects.
ClickUp
ClickUp markets itself as the everything app for work. It has features not just for project management, but also product management and resource platform. It’s a great generalist solution for a quickly scaling company.
Monday
Monday is a flexible, customisable (and might we say beautifully colour-co-ordinated) tool for growing startups. The ability to create different workspaces means it’s ideal if you have your company using one platform, but for multiple team use cases.
Monday can be especially useful for your growing sales and marketing teams, as its scheduling and automation capabilities makes it easier to track things such as sales pipeline and marketing content calendars.
Solutions for scaling companies
Asana
Designed for growing teams, Asana helps with workflow automation, dependencies, and long-term planning.
Notion
A hybrid between project management and a wiki, Notion is great for documentation-heavy teams or companies that are looking to set up more in-depth knowledge hubs.
5. Financial planning & forecasting tools
Raising a funding round isn’t just about having a great pitch—it’s about proving that your startup is financially sound and built for sustainable growth.
Investors want to see clear, data-backed financial planning, not guesswork. But for many startups, financial management is one of the most overlooked and underdeveloped areas of the business.
That’s where financial planning tools come in. They help you stay ahead of potential financial pitfalls by providing real-time insights into your cash flow, expenses, and funding runway. Specifically, financial planning tools can help you to:
- Easily track how much you’re spending and your runway before needing to fundraise again.
- See exactly where your money is going, spot inefficiencies, and adjust spending before problems arise.
- Have professional, investor-ready forecasts at your fingertips.
- Some tools also help track cap tables, stock options, and valuations, making it easier to navigate fundraising.
Recommended financial planning tools
Brex
Brex combines spend management, corporate credit cards, and bill pay into one platform, making it ideal for startups that need to track expenses and optimise cash flow.
Carta
Carta specialises in equity, fund and cap table management. It’s particularly well-suited to help startups navigate the complexities of ownership and investor relations.
Forecast
Forecast is great if you want an AI-powered solution that automates financial management and resource forecasting.
Taking your startup global: moving from short-term funding to long-term growth
In its early stages, a startup is about demonstrating potential.
But as you seek to scale, you need to demonstrate more than potential - it’s about proving that you have the scalable infrastructure that’s going to inspire confidence in future investment rounds.
The right tools should not simply serve as your bridge to the next funding round. Think about how you’re going to lay the groundwork for future success.
