By Pete Cooper
CEO, Skillion
When most people hear about the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), they think of large enterprises with hundreds of developers and sprawling IT departments. But what about startups and small companies? Can SAFe offer them any real value?
Surprisingly, yes.
While SAFe was originally built for complex, large-scale environments, our experience shows that small companies and startups can also benefit—if applied thoughtfully. At Skillion, we’ve worked with organizations of all sizes, and here’s what we’ve learned.
Why SAFe Isn’t Just for Big Business
SAFe helps streamline development using Agile principles, providing structure where chaos could easily reign. Even in small teams, aligning development with business goals, improving time-to-market, and enhancing collaboration are valuable outcomes. And the data backs it up:
- 12% faster time to market and 17% higher quality, according to Scaled Agile Inc.
- 15% improvement in efficiency and 20% reduction in cycle time, per Forrester Research.
- 30% better team collaboration and 25% improvement in predictability, based on PMI findings.
These aren’t just enterprise numbers—they reflect agile gains that any startup could use.
Where SAFe Works for Small Companies
1. Improved Collaboration & Communication
SAFe fosters a culture of cross-functional teamwork. In startups, where team members often juggle roles, this structure avoids siloed thinking and streamlines communication.
2. Faster Time to Market
Speed matters. With SAFe’s focus on continuous delivery and fast iteration, startups can get features out faster, test ideas, and pivot based on customer feedback.
3. Increased Efficiency
Small companies don’t have room for waste. SAFe’s templates and guidelines reduce trial-and-error and promote lean practices that conserve time and resources.
4. Business Alignment
Every sprint and release can tie directly into business objectives. This is essential for early-stage companies who need to show progress, traction, or results to investors.
5. Better Product Quality
With its focus on iterative improvement, built-in QA practices, and retrospectives, SAFe helps ensure quality is embedded from the start—even without a large QA team.
The Reality Check
SAFe is not a silver bullet. As companies evolve, some may abandon SAFe or heavily modify it. Implementation can be resource-intensive, and it’s critical to tailor the framework to your company’s size, not just adopt it wholesale.
In our experience, small companies that succeed with SAFe keep things lean, focus on essentials, and avoid over-engineering. They treat SAFe as a guide—not gospel.
Final Thoughts
SAFe brings real structure to Agile, and with the right mindset, it can empower small teams to move faster, collaborate better, and deliver more value. For startups aiming to scale, it’s a tool worth exploring—just remember to scale SAFe itself to match your needs.
— Pete Cooper
