What it really takes to turn growth into scale

For decades, Saul Klein has been at the centre of the UK’s technology ecosystem, as a founder, operator and one of Europe’s most active investors. From launching LoveFilm to backing companies like Monzo and Wise, his perspective is shaped by cycles of boom, bust and reinvention.

One of his core beliefs challenges a long-standing narrative: the UK does not have a shortage of innovation. The numbers support that claim. Today, there are around 800 venture-backed companies in the UK generating more than $25m in annual revenue, with the broader ecosystem growing rapidly over the past decade. Klein describes the shift as “night and day” compared to when he started out.

Yet despite this progress, a familiar challenge remains. The issue is not creating businesses, it is scaling them. Klein’s own experience with LoveFilm illustrates the tension. At the time of its sale to Amazon, the company had built a strong position in Europe but faced a different mindset from US competitors.

“We were told you have to be profitable to go public,” he recalls. Meanwhile, Amazon’s approach was to prioritise growth and long-term market leadership. The contrast highlights a structural difference in how businesses are built and funded.

This gap is still visible today. While early-stage investment has increased significantly, later-stage capital remains constrained. Klein estimates that the UK and Europe are “massively starved of capital” at the point where companies transition from growth to global scale.

That funding gap has real consequences. Without access to large pools of capital, businesses are more likely to sell early or struggle to compete with better-funded international rivals. But capital alone is not the full story.

Leadership and mindset also play a critical role. Klein points to founders like Spotify’s Daniel Ek as examples of what it takes to build at scale, combining “maniacal focus” with long-term ambition. These are leaders willing to pursue opportunities over decades rather than years.

That long-term perspective is something Klein believes more businesses need to adopt. Building a category-defining company is not a short-term exercise. It requires sustained investment, patience and the ability to navigate multiple technology cycles.

At the same time, adaptability remains essential. Klein’s own career reflects a willingness to move between roles and industries, guided by learning rather than rigid planning. His advice is simple: “learn as much as you can in the room that you’re in and keep exploring.”

This philosophy is particularly relevant in periods of technological change. Klein draws parallels between today’s AI boom and the early days of the internet, describing innovation as a series of overlapping waves. AI, he argues, is likely to be another multi-decade shift, building on existing infrastructure such as cloud computing and mobile.

However, adoption remains uneven. While interest is widespread, only a small proportion of organisations have fully embedded AI into their operations. This creates both risk and opportunity. Those who move early can gain an advantage, but the path is still evolving.

Ultimately, Klein is optimistic about the UK’s position. He describes the region as part of a “second-best innovation cluster in the world” after Silicon Valley, with strong universities, talent and infrastructure.

The foundations, in other words, are already in place. The challenge now is to build on them, with the capital, ambition and persistence required to turn promising businesses into global leaders.