Growing up is tough, says Roamal Perera, founder and chief executive of Irish software company Valista, and he's not talking about puberty. He's referring to the fact that as many as 97 per cent of indigenous Irish start-up companies stay small.
"It's very tough to make the progression to the next stage," says the Sri Lanka-born entrepreneur, who will next week address an audience of 500 Irish chief executives on how to grow their business.
"What people don't realise is how much hard work it takes to get past that initial start-up stage, and that's why so many start-up companies don't make it past that hurdle," he says.
According to a spokesman for the CEO forum, an annual event organised by Enterprise Ireland and Deloitte that brings together company heads from all walks of Irish life, growing businesses to the stage where they can compete globally is a problem in the Republic.
While the State has had significant success attracting inward direct investment and creating a home for many start-up companies, it now needs to turn its attention to ensure that the few small companies that become mid-sized companies can continue to develop into large companies.
Of Enterprise Ireland's 3,000 active clients, only 86 are considered to be companies of scale - those with annual turnover of more than €20 million.
This is something Peter Coyle, an executive director at Enterprise Ireland, is looking to change with the development of a scaling unit. The division has 39 companies in the programme, which aims to help these groups increase turnover and become global players in their field.
"We need to boost the number of companies generating more than €20 million because once you get these, indications are you will probably stay more profitable," he says. "It's an important step on the road to becoming a global player."
Building scale can require different actions depending on the type of business you're seeking to grow, says Perera.
If you are CRH or AIB you can grow your business to a significant size in Ireland, while if you are a technology group you need to look overseas, and particularly to the US and Asia to achieve any levels of scale.
Perera jokes about the early days of Valista, when it was still called Network365, before the 2003 acquisition of US group iPIN. Set up in 1999, Network365 won its first contract from Digifone and Perera says he did everything he could to avoid the client visiting the group's headquarters. "I didn't want them to see that we were a two-man and a dog operation working from a shed in Wicklow," he says, exaggerating the scenario.
One thing Perera did, and something he says not enough Irish businesses do, was to "shamelessly" exploit the networks and operations of Enterprise Ireland.
"I went to everything I could possibly go to," he says. "If there was a trade mission, I was on it. If there was a lunch at an ambassadorial residence, I was there." Perera believes that if he hadn't done this, Valista wouldn't be where it is now.
When the company opened its first office in Japan, Tánaiste Mary Harney was at the opening. "Can you imagine the credibility that gave us?" he asks.
After that, things followed quickly.
Much of Valista's growth can be traced back to Enterprise Ireland, Perera says. "We grew organically with the help of Enterprise Ireland and using that as a platform, we were able to make our first acquisition," he says.
However, while Enterprise Ireland offers great opportunities, "ultimately all it does is to open doors and lend credibility, the rest is up to you," says Perera.
In one way, growing a company is as much of a public relations exercise as anything, according to Perera. "It's about creating the right image for the company and most importantly, believing in the company and what you're trying to do," he says.
As far as other Irish companies are concerned, the growth potential is vast, says Perera. "There is no reason why Ireland should be made up of small companies, especially when it has a Government that is so supportive of industry," he says.
