For a startup to thrive in today’s competitive market, it must first wade through the turbulent waters of venture capital (VC) funding.

At least, that’s what conventional wisdom would dictate.

Enter Aswin Shibu, chief revenue officer at MixRank, a Data-as-a-Service platform that provides insights to the world’s leading sales platforms, recruiting solutions and investors, who want to make the best possible decisions and stay ahead of the competition.

Thanks to Aswin’s hard work and expertise, MixRank has been able to scale up to more than 50 employees across 21 countries, all without getting bogged down in endless rounds of VC funding.

For startup founders and business leaders looking to grow efficiently without relying on venture capital, his approach offers a strong playbook for success.

Long term sustainability: Shibu’s playbook for success

Gaining VC funding isn’t easy, and unless a founder already has connections, it’s almost impossible.

An estimated 30% of deals stem from warm industry leads, and another 30% are the result of VCs reaching out to entrepreneurs directly, with 28% coming from referrals and just 10% from cold email pitches.

The bottom line is that founders and business leaders who are not already well-connected will struggle to gain funding, and even entrepreneurs who already have good connections will find that multiple rounds of funding can eat up a lot of valuable time.

When Aswin joined MixRank as their first remote employee, both he and the company faced several significant challenges. On Aswin’s side, he was managing a full twelve-hour timezone gap separating him from customers and, while MixRank itself was contending with some extremely well-funded competitors.

There’s no way they were going to outspend them, so they had to outmaneuver them instead.

Fortunately, what initially seemed like weaknesses for both Aswin and MixRank turned out to be hidden strengths. Rather than seeking VC funding to fuel fast (and perhaps even unsustainable) growth, Aswin steered MixRank in another direction, focusing instead on making the most of some initial early investments to focus on revenue-driven growth and efficient scaling. 

MixRank achieved this by building an efficient, global team capable of achieving sustainable, profitable growth.

Aswin’s startup growth strategy: global fluency at work

MixRank has drawn from largely overlooked global talent pools to build a lean, efficient, remote-first workforce that allows for long-term sustainability. Over time, this strategy has not only proven profitable but also allowed them to punch above their weight against even the most well-funded competitors.

Aswin’s contributions to MixRank’s startup growth strategy stem from his own global outlook. Born in India, he attended high school in Kuwait after his parents emigrated there for work. Because they both worked full-time, he often found himself alone in the afternoons and evenings, so he did what any teenager would do: surf the internet and watch TV!

He had no idea what a huge effect this would have on his later life and career: “this helped me better understand culture across the world, and even gave me an edge in learning how to speak English better.” 

This time in his life proved to be what he calls “the great equalizer,” where he became more culturally and linguistically adept. This positioned him to make the most of opportunities that came his way, whether it be through education, networking, or resources.

Though he didn’t know it at the time, these experiences would one day shape his strategy for building MixRank’s talent pool. Instead of simply seeking talent from North America and Western Europe—as well-funded, VC-backed competitors often do—Aswin looked toward global and emerging markets like India, Brazil, and Colombia, and this strategy has paid dividends, with MixRank achieving 50% year-over-year revenue growth.

Today, the company boasts more than 50 employees across the globe, from Thailand to San Francisco, earning millions in revenue.

“There are millions of young people, smarter and harder-working than me, who just need the right network and access to resources to unlock their true potential,” Shibu explains.

How Aswin and MixRank keep the workflow flowing

Naturally, a remote-first team operating across time zones in 21 countries will face unique challenges requiring inventive solutions. To that end, Aswin has built a chat-first work culture at MixRank that makes the most of today’s asynchronous communication tools, such as Slack.

Their preferred communication framework skips formalities in favor of an inverted version of the Minto Pyramid, where co-workers start by directly stating the problem before providing whatever context is necessary and moving on to proposed actions, solutions, next steps, and any related timelines or deadlines.

This systematic and straightforward approach minimizes the need for live, synchronous meetings and—thanks to its global workforce—keeps MixRank rolling on nearly a 24-hour basis.

Your next great hire: around the corner or around the world?

MixRank’s success shows that instead of chasing an IPO or acquisition, investing in long-term resilience and global collaboration can prove just as powerful. Startups don’t necessarily need huge funding to scale, but they do need the right systems and the right people.

Aswin is currently working on a program called y∅ for entrepreneurs across the world who want to develop their ideas but lack mentorship and resources.

As the success of Aswin Shibu’s approach demonstrates, your next great hire could literally be anywhere!

VentureBeat newsroom and editorial staff were not involved in the creation of this content.