Riding the Waves of Growth
Why Startups Struggle to Scale and How to Fix It
I've helped over 70 companies scale and something that took me a lot of time to grasp is this interesting idea.
Startups don’t grow in a straight line. Their journey is more like riding a series of waves—each bringing new challenges that, if not navigated properly, can crash the company back to shore. Every stage of growth introduces a different problem to solve, and just when you think you’ve mastered one, another appears on the horizon.
But here’s the biggest mistake founders and teams make:
They tackle these waves one at a time—fixing sales first, then moving to customer success, then fixing delivery, then fixing operations, and so on. This slows down growth drastically because each fix simply exposes the next bottleneck, keeping the company stuck.
The real secret to scaling?
Understanding that waves are connected to one and other.
Fixing these waves in parallel.
Let’s break down the typical waves of startup growth and why solving them simultaneously is crucial.
Wave 1: The Key Insight – The Alpha Element
Before anything else, a startup is born from an insight—a deep understanding of a present and future market need that isn’t being properly addressed.
This is the true alpha element—the foundation of any successful startup.
It could be a specific sector poised for massive growth, but with pain points that no one is solving, today but also “tomorrow”.
It could be recognizing a coming shift in technology, regulation, or user behavior that will create new opportunities.
It could be spotting the future problem that an industry will inevitably face and being the one to solve it before it fully manifests. It’s key to base those predictions on data.
Say you’re boat captain, deciding to take a route or another could have major implications if not checking for data like the weather conditions, piracy, under water rocks, that you have enough food or drinking water on board etc.
Here’s one additional challenge: Markets are alive, they evolve, and so must our understanding of them.
If a startup locks onto an insight but fails to adapt as reality shifts, it risks becoming obsolete before it even scales. The only constant in business is change, and the best companies continuously refine and adjust their market outlook based on new data.
And this is where many startups fail before they even begin. If the insight is off, everything that follows—sales, customer success, delivery—will be misaligned.
Keeping that insight protected at all cost is the key and the best protection is flawless, exponential growth.
Wave 2: Sales – The First Real Test
Once the core insight is clear, the next big challenge is proving that it actually translates into paying customers.
Many startups struggle at this phase because even a great idea needs:
A compelling value proposition.
A repeatable (self-serve and automated) sales process.
A way to stand out in a crowded market or to be and lead the market…
Without early traction, the business has no fuel. This is the phase of hustling, refining the pitch, and testing different sales strategies.
🚨 But here’s the trap: Many founders think that once sales are working, growth will follow.
It won’t.
Because the moment sales take off, the next bottleneck appears…
Wave 3: Customer Success – Keeping What You Catch
Landing clients is one thing—keeping them happy is another.
Many startups make the mistake of focusing too much on acquisition while neglecting retention. If customers aren’t satisfied, they leave, and churn becomes a silent killer.
This phase requires:
A structured customer success team responsible for retention.
Clear accountability for satisfaction and reputation management.
Systems to capture market and user insights to continuously refine the offering.
Most companies are inward focused and not user or customer focused (the eternal problem of ego). This is the main trap in which companies fall. We can see it everywhere, those companies that truly have an outward in approach win. Think Amazon, Apple and there are so many examples not just American companies. Think Air France for example.
🚨 But again, fixing customer success alone isn’t enough.
Because even if your customers are happy, you still won’t grow if you can’t deliver at scale.
Wave 4: Scaling Delivery – Meeting Demand at Scale
Once sales and customer success are under control, the next challenge emerges: Can we actually deliver at scale?
This is where operational bottlenecks start appearing:
Production slowdowns that make it hard to fulfill demand.
Quality control issues as processes become more complex.
Margins getting squeezed because scaling adds costs, not just revenue.
Talents get burned out and leave: Growing leads to a lot of work if left unplanned for and unmamaged. This creates major risks of departures. Implementing proper Human Resources management is key.
🚨 Once again, founders often make the mistake of fixing this wave before moving to the next.
Even if you can now deliver efficiently, the next problem emerges:
Wave 5: Managing a Larger Organization & Financial Complexity
Once operations are stable, the next challenge is running a more complex company.
This phase introduces:
Larger budgets and financial planning needs.
More employees, requiring stronger leadership and internal alignment.
Investor expectations, where shareholders demand accountability for growth and profitability.
A startup now needs to professionalize its operations without losing its agility. Many struggle here because they either:
Over-engineer processes too early, slowing down innovation.
Ignore operational structure, leading to internal chaos.
🚨 And yet again, solving this in isolation isn’t enough.
Because even if the company is now well-managed, the next problem is making the right long-term decisions.
Wave 6: Strategic Decision-Making – Steering the Ship
As the company matures, the challenge shifts from execution to strategy.
The key questions become:
What tracks should we take for future growth?
How do we best use market data to make those decisions?
Do we have a unified system, collective learning that provides real-time insights?
Without structured decision-making, companies risk making short-sighted choices that don’t align with long-term success.
And finally, even if all of this is solved, the last and most difficult wave appears…
Wave 7: Innovation, R&D, and Staying Relevant
After mastering strategy, a company faces its final wave: how to remain ahead of the market.
At this stage, the biggest risks are complacency and stagnation.
The challenge is now:
Continuous R&D to improve products and services.
Exploring acquisitions or partnerships to stay ahead.
Keeping an eye on disruptive trends like AI and industry shifts.
Companies that fail here often become obsolete without realizing it—because they keep optimizing for an old reality instead of building for the next one.
The Fatal Mistake: Solving These Waves One by One
Most startups fix one wave at a time—and it kills their growth.
🚨 They fix sales, but still can’t grow because they’re losing clients.
🚨 They fix customer success, but still can’t grow because they can’t deliver at scale.
🚨 They fix delivery, but still can’t grow because their org isn’t structured.
This cycle repeats endlessly, stalling momentum.
The only way to scale effectively is to fix these waves in parallel.
How to Surf the Waves Instead of Drowning
Think ahead – Decisions should be based on what the company will need in 6-12 months, not just today. Proactiveness is leadership.
Build for scalability – Systems should be able to handle future growth without breaking.
Stay data-driven – Making decisions based on real insights rather than assumptions is key.
Align the team – Growth requires cross-functional collaboration, not just isolated fixes.
Fix all waves in parallel – If you fix sales, you must also fix customer success, delivery, and operations at the same time.
Conclusion: Growth is a Cycle, Not a Destination
Every startup faces these waves. The difference between those that scale and those that stall is whether they fix them sequentially or simultaneously.
The best founders and leaders anticipate the next wave before it hits, ensuring the company is always one step ahead—ready not just to survive, but to ride each wave to even greater success.
