Scaling Through Uncertainty: 2026 Business Outlook Results
Platform94 is proud to publish the results of our 2026 Business Outlook Survey, informed by feedback from leaders across our SCALE by Platform94 regional scaling community to better understand the priorities, pressures, risks and opportunities shaping the year ahead for founder-led and scaling businesses throughout the west and northwest region.
With a strong completion rate of over 80%, the findings provide a highly representative view of what growth-focused companies are experiencing on the ground, and, importantly, what they need most to scale faster and more effectively.
What the results reveal is both ambitious and pragmatic: companies are targeting significant growth and new market expansion, while preparing for strain in sales capacity, leadership bandwidth and cashflow management, and accelerating AI adoption as a key driver of efficiency.
“What stands out clearly is the ambition of our regional scaling leaders. Even with economic uncertainty rated as the number one challenge and risk, our companies are planning for strong growth, deeper market expansion and more sophisticated operations.” said Marie Donnellan, CEO, Platform94
Strong Momentum
Across the community, growth remains the defining theme. Leaders reported combined estimated revenue in 2025 of approximately €320 million, with average revenue exceeding €3 million per business. Looking ahead, leaders are forecasting an average revenue growth rate of 30% in 2026, a headline figure that signals strong confidence and clear commercial intent.
This growth appetite is further reflected in the top business priorities identified for 2026:
Top 5 Business Priorities for 2026
Revenue growth
Customer acquisition & retention
Product development & innovation
AI adoption / digital transformation
International expansion
In simple terms companies want to grow their top line, win and retain customers, keep innovating, and do so with stronger systems, smarter automation and international momentum.
“A 30% growth ambition, in a year where uncertainty dominates, will require disciplined execution, agile leadership and scale-ready systems that enable momentum while protecting delivery”
Shaped by Uncertainty
It is notable, and strategically important, that the most common challenge anticipated by companies for 2026 aligns directly with the top external risk identified. Leaders are planning for growth while simultaneously preparing for economic headwinds, geopolitical disruption and pressure on margins.
Top 5 Challenges anticipated in 2026
Economic and geopolitical uncertainty
Talent acquisition & retention
Operational scalability
Cash flow management
Rising operational costs / margin pressures
Top 5 External Risks identified
Economic slowdown
Geopolitical or trade disruption
Cybersecurity threats
Supply chain instability
Regulatory change
These responses point to an important reality for scaling companies. 2026 is not expected to be straightforward. Leaders are experiencing and anticipating complexity and volatility, while still pushing for growth.
That combination increases the strategic premium on resilience: companies must be able to scale without overextending, invest without destabilising cashflow, and expand internationally without diluting leadership capacity.
Scaling Strain
The theme of capacity and bandwidth issues appear throughout the survey results as a key challenge to scaling both domestically and internationally.
When asked which areas are most likely to come under pressure as companies scale in 2026, respondents consistently highlighted the ‘operational reality’ of growth and the parts of the business that start to creak when the pace accelerates.
Areas most likely to come under strain
Sales & marketing capacity
Finance & cash flow
Leadership bandwidth
Mid-management capability & capacity
Processes and systems
Global Ambitions – UK and US lead the charge
International scale remains a central theme across the dataset. 90% of the SCALE by Platform94 community are already trading beyond Ireland with the UK and US dominating 2026 expansion plans.
68% of businesses said they were currently operating in the UK, 51% in the US and 47% in Europe. Other markets featuring strongly include Australia, Asia, Canada and Africa.
Targeted Expansion Markets for 2026
UK: 80%
US: 64%
Ireland: 62%
EU: 58%
The UK remains the natural next step for scaling companies with 80% targeting new or continued expansion in 2026. Despite a significantly higher set up cost, the US follows closely behind on 64%.
“Notably the targeted growth expansion in the UK and US, outpaces the Irish domestic market target, a clear sign of the confidence, ambition and growing global competitiveness of scaling companies in our region, and of an increasingly international-first mindset.”
Barriers to International Scale
The barriers to international expansion mirror the broader challenges and strain points noted in the survey. Scaling globally requires finance, people and bandwidth and leaders are acutely aware of the current pressures.
Top 5 Barriers to International Scaling
Cost of expansion
Leadership and management bandwidth
Scaling operational capacity
Talent acquisition & retention
Access to local market insights
International growth is certainly not constrained by ambition, but by the ability to execute at the required pace without weakening the core business.
Efficiency has become the Advantage
The SCALE by Platform94 community currently employs approximately 2,500 people across the region, a major employment and economic impact footprint.
For 2026, the survey indicates that while headcount growth is planned, companies are strongly focused on scaling efficiently. The community’s expected average headcount growth forecast is 18%, versus a growth forecast of 30%. This directly aligns with margin pressures and cash flow management ranking in the top five challenges, alongside AI adoption and digital transformation ranking in the key priorities.
“Leaders are expecting revenue growth to well outpace headcount expansion, signalling an intentional move toward productivity, automation and smarter operational delivery.”
AI Adoption: Ambition v Execution
AI adoption and automation ranked as a top-five strategic priority for scaling companies in 2026, reflecting a clear recognition that future growth will depend on greater efficiency, productivity and smarter internal execution.
However, while the ambition is strong, the results show that most companies are still in the early stages of adoption, with the majority only beginning to explore or test use cases rather than operating with mature, organisation-wide implementation.
AI Adoption stage
9% have not started
22% are exploring use cases
35% are piloting in limited areas
27% are embedded in core workflows
7% are embedded organisation-wide
Companies clearly see the value of AI, but are still building capability, moving from curiosity to confidence, and from experimentation to structured adoption.
“What concerns me is the clear mismatch between ambition and execution when it comes to AI adoption. Most leaders consider it essential, yet most are still in the very early stages of implementation. In the current environment, that creates real exposure to falling behind on productivity, competitiveness and margin resilience. AI education and practical adoption supports to our individual businesses will be a key focus for us throughout 2026.”
Systems are Catching Up
Digital transformation maturity appears stronger, with a large portion of the community reporting implementation in core workflows, and a significant share fully embedded organisation-wide.
Digital Transformation Stage
8% have not started
7% are exploring use cases
16% are piloting in limited areas
39% have implemented in core workflows
30% are embedded organisation-wide
Taken together with the strain areas identified, the 2026 scaling landscape is defined by operational maturity with a focus on building scalable systems and operating models that can withstand rapid growth.
Security Moves Up the Agenda
Cybersecurity threats rank as the third highest external risk identified by scaling companies. In parallel, the community is actively investing in readiness.
Cybersecurity Readiness Levels
1.5% - Not sure
16% - Basic
51% - Intermediate
31.5% - Advanced
As companies expand into multiple geographies and operate larger digital footprints, cybersecurity becomes both a risk and a strategic capability. Leaders understand the continuously growing threat and are actively building preparedness. There remains a need for continued support and awareness-building, particularly as international expansion and regulatory change accelerate.
Supports that Drive Outcomes
Perhaps the most strategic question in the entire survey related to supports - what companies believe will most materially help them scale.
The strongest responses align directly with the realities of international scaling, lean growth, and leadership capacity constraints.
Top Supports Needed to Scale
Customer and partner introductions
AI adoption and digital transformation supports
Leadership development supports
Peer roundtables / collaboration opportunities
New market insights
These findings provide a clear roadmap for Platform94 supports and programming in 2026 as the community clearly seek supports that accelerate revenue, shorten sales cycles, improve operational efficiency/delivery and strengthen leadership teams as scale intensifies.
SCALE Community delivering Tangible Impact
Beyond priorities and challenges, the strongest validation of the survey is the reported impact of SCALE by Platform94 membership on business growth outcomes.
80% of respondents reported having a stronger peer network, with access to trusted advisors, practical insights and a sounding board during critical growth phases.
70% reported either a new strategic partnership/collaboration, or a new customer/commercial opportunity as a direct result of community membership.
For Platform94, these numbers speak to what scaling leaders value most: trusted relationships, meaningful introductions and access to peers who understand the scale journey.
“I’m deeply proud of the support statistics. 70% report either a new strategic partnership/collaboration, or a new customer/commercial opportunity as a direct result of SCALE community membership. It demonstrates the real impact of the SCALE by Platform94 community which is tangible outcomes for businesses. We are committed to providing trusted connections, practical insight, and the kind of supports that directly influence growth”.
What the Results Tell Us
Overall, the message of the 2026 Business Outlook Survey is both clear and compelling. Scaling companies across the Scale by Platform94 community are targeting strong growth, with forecast revenue expansion of 28%, while international ambitions continue to accelerate, particularly across the UK and US markets. At the same time, leaders are acutely aware that economic uncertainty remains the dominant challenge and external risk shaping the year ahead. As businesses pursue growth in this environment, pressure is expected to emerge most sharply in sales capacity, cashflow management and leadership bandwidth, highlighting the operational realities of scaling. These findings also reinforce why AI adoption and digital transformation are increasingly viewed as essential tools for scaling leaner, building productivity and protecting margins. Critically, the survey also demonstrates that the regional scale community model is delivering real value, with measurable outcomes emerging in the form of stronger networks, trusted peer insight, and new commercial opportunities.
In response, Platform94 will continue to focus on enabling practical growth supports, from strategic introductions and market access, to leadership development and peer-driven learning, ensuring scaling companies in the region can remain ambitious, resilient and internationally competitive.