Scaling a startup sounds like a dream—until your team starts to fall apart.
Most startup advice focuses on fundraising, growth hacks, or customer acquisition. But the real danger often comes from within. I learned this the hard way when my company grew faster than our people could handle.
We didn’t struggle because of poor sales or bad strategy—we struggled because we launched into scaling without supporting the team doing the work. In this post, I’m sharing 10 lessons from that painful chapter, so that you can grow your business without breaking your team.
When It Broke
We started as a tight-knit team. Even when we moved into bigger premises, the culture held.
But then I made a strategic decision: I accelerated our growth and scaling-up plans. I was worried about overheads, so I pushed hard on sales and marketing to make sure we had more than enough work coming in. And it worked. We had too much work.
The only missing ingredient? People. Fast.
We launched hiring campaigns. Ads, referrals, bonuses. We couldn’t find skilled people, so we leaned into junior hires and in-house training.
Soon, we had bodies. But no systems. No clarity. No onboarding. No one knew what they were doing—and it was chaos.
10 Startup Scaling Lessons I Learned the Hard Way
1. Start recruiting long before you need to
The more senior the role, the longer it takes. Between hiring, onboarding, and ramp-up, it can be 6–12 months before someone truly adds value.
2. Don’t cheap out on hiring
When you’re guarding the budget, it’s tempting to delay hires or aim low on salary. Don’t. Good people know their worth. Bad hires cost more than you think.
3. Training needs time, not just a plan
If you’re hiring junior talent, you need a serious training system. Not just materials—a trainer, a schedule, and the bandwidth to do it properly.
4. Define job roles before people arrive
Startups run on blurred lines. But as you grow, people need defined roles. Don’t expect them to figure it out on their own. It breeds confusion and resentment.
5. Onboarding sets the tone
People decide whether they’ll stay long-term within their first 24 hours. Make that first impression count: clear intros, warm welcomes, and a sense of purpose. They’re not just “the new hire”—they’re your future.
6. Hiring too many at once creates chaos
You’re not a corporation onboarding 50 grads. Add too many people without support, and you’ll break the team that was working.
7. Accept that some hires won’t work out
Even with care, some people won’t be a fit. Don’t cling to optimism. Spot it fast, and act fast.
8. Culture is not a substitute for capability
Energy, fun, loyalty—great traits. But you still need competence. Startups thrive on people who can both do and grow.
9. Get rid of toxic hires early—even if you’re short-handed
One bad apple wrecks the barrel. Your gut already knows. Trust it.
10. Don’t promote doers into managers without support
Top performers aren’t automatically good leaders. Promoting them without training often backfires. You lose your best operator and gain an unhappy, unqualified manager.
The Warning Signs I Missed
I was focused on revenue and headcount. I ignored the signals that our team was breaking:
- Bottlenecks that became logjams
- Decisions were delayed because no one had clarity
- Quiet resignation from strong team members
- Good people looking increasingly miserable
I brushed off their concerns. I assumed they’d push through like they always had.
I was wrong.
The Founder’s Real Job Isn’t Scaling the Business—It’s Scaling the People
John D. Rockefeller said:
“Good leadership consists of showing average people how to do the work of superior people.”
I expected them to perform. I didn’t equip them to succeed.
That’s the painful truth: startups don’t fail because they grow—they fail because they scale the revenue, the marketing, the overheads… but forget to scale the people.
My latest book, Start for Success, has lots of advice on putting the right foundations in to scale
