4 Problems With Growing Too Quickly in Startup Tech Companies

As an entrepreneur, you’ll likely be excited for growth, but growing too quickly can be problematic too.

Most entrepreneurs get into the game because they like what comes at the end of entrepreneurship. That might include material wealth, the power of leading a big organization, or the comfort of having a legacy to pass on to your children. In any case, there’s a temptation to grow as fast as possible. However, growing too quickly comes with a number of different problems:

Cost escalation. First and foremost, growth is usually associated with an increase in spending. You’ll invest in new locations, new technologies, and likely new people, and you’ll need all of them to maintain your pattern of growth. However, if you don’t have the revenues to support those new costs, you’ll quickly run yourself out of business.
New hires. New hires can lend a helping hand to your business, but they also take time to train properly. If not supervised or trained properly, they can weigh your business down, especially if you’re dealing with many at once.
Brand dilution. It’s easy to maintain your brand culture when there are only a handful of you at a small scale, but once you start inflating, it gets harder and harder to maintain that image.
Loss of testing. Finally, operating at a small scale gives you a chance to test out your main business concepts. Think of it as a sandbox where you can easily learn from your mistakes, with limited consequences. If you skip that, you won’t be adequately prepared for the big leagues.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to grow your business; that’s what entrepreneurship is all about. But if you get too excited, and too far ahead of yourself, you end up creating more problems than you can feasibly solve. Monitor your pace of growth, and control your costs so they don’t spiral out of control.

About the Author

Jose Vasquez is a serial entrepreneur and tech specialist dedicated to helping startup tech companies grow and succeed. As the founder of Build. Brand. Blast., Jose has worked with dozens of enterprises to find direction, gain momentum, and achieve results.