In their first high-pressure days of a startup, the only goal is survival. Founders have to move fast, fulfill multiple roles, and make big decisions with incomplete information. When that sweet, sweet growth finally arrives, it can feel like validation: more revenue, more customers, more visibility. But that growth can become its own sort of obstacle. The very skills that helped founders start a company may not be the skills needed to keep it growing.
As teams expand and operations, by necessity, grow more complex, new challenges emerge that can give even the most experienced founders pause. With that in mind, here are some of the most common growing pains founders face as their businesses start to grow.
1. Letting Go of Day-to-Day Control
In the early stages, founders are used to doing everything themselves. They prototype and build the product, they talk to the investors, they handle daily operations, they manage finances. When resources are limited and the scale is small, this level of control can be advantageous and even necessary.
But as the business grows, trying to stay involved in every little detail and decision becomes a hindrance. Decisions are made too slowly, team members feel disempowered, and the founder rapidly gets overworked. After a certain point, delegation isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity.
2. Not Implementing Scalable Systems
In the beginning, informal processes and basic tools — the proverbial cocktail napkin — are enough. Maybe it’s a shared spreadsheet, a Slack channel, and a simple accounting setup. That’s enough to sustain a small team.
But growth rapidly exposes the flaws in these small systems. Information gets lost. That spreadsheet balloons to unworkable proportions. Accountability becomes muddy. Without scalable systems for financing, operations, customer service, and project management, chaos can ensue. Investing in quality scalable systems early on can avoid a lot of headache down the line.
3. Managing Cash Flow During Expansion
As many founders end up learning the hard way, revenue growth is not the same as financial stability. In fact, rapid growth can often increase financial pressure. Scaling often calls for upfront investment in new staff, inventory, infrastructure and marketing before that additional revenue can be fully realized. Delayed customer payments or longer sales cycles can mean gaps between money going out and money coming in.
That’s why founders have to develop a strong understanding of cash flow forecasting and financial planning. Without this, even fast-growing businesses can become victims of their own success.
4. Hiring the Right People
As workloads increase and delegation becomes more necessary, the temptation to hire quickly is strong — and perfectly understandable. But rushed recruitment decisions can have a negative ripple effect down the line. A poor fit for the team can affect morale, productivity, and customer experience.
Scaling your team up effectively means having clear goals in regards to roles, responsibilities, and the skills needed for future growth. As the business grows more sophisticated, founders need to shift from hiring generalists to building specialized teams with complimentary strengths and deep expertise.
5. Shifting from Product Focus to Business Leadership
A lot of startups begin with a product, or at least a great idea for a product. Many founders are great at turning an idea into something that customers love. In some cases, that can be the easy part. The challenge comes when the business starts to grow and the focus on the product starts to diminish.
After a certain point, leadership has to change from focus on the product to focus on the bigger things: strategy, communication, financial oversight, and team development. Long-term direction and market positioning become key. This shift can be uncomfortable, but it’s necessary.
That’s where structured learning can play a vital role in leadership development. Pursuing an advanced degree like an online master of business administration can provide the broader leadership and management skills necessary. Added to which, studying for a master of business administration online means a more flexible schedule and the freedom to skill up without leaving the workforce.
6. Maintaining Company Culture
Culture in a small startup is often invisible and not often thought about. Interactions are organic, everyone works closely together, and values are shared and unspoken.
But as the business grows, culture can either dilute or fracture as new hires come on with different (or no) expectations. Without intentional effort, the original spirit of the company can get lost. Founders have to play a central role in modeling and defining the culture, and they need to communicate these values to their employees clearly.
7. Staying Focused
Growth opens up new opportunities. New markets become available, partnerships become a reality, and an expanding customer base means more possibilities — but not every possibility should necessarily be pursued. As businesses grow, founder have to think about priorities. Spreading resources too thin can be dangerous, and a lack of strategy can foment chaos. By learning to evaluate opportunities through the lens of long-term goals, founders can help keep their companies on track.
