Redefine yourself

Redefining variables in code leads to unpleasant surprises. But redefining how you see your company as it grows is important.

At my last start-up, we doubled headcount in a year. Then we doubled again – six times in total. Each time, the company needed to evolve. What worked for a 50-person team did not at 100. And again at 400. Processes had to change. New roles were created. Specialization emerged. Titles were introduced. Promotion committees were formed. Hiring criteria became standardized. Budgets got stricter.

Some found it frustrating, few recognized the necessity of the shift. But someone has to drive that shift – that may be you. What doesn’t work is pretending a 1,000-person company can run like a 20-person one, where everyone knows what everyone else is doing.

The alternative is not growing that much. And that’s a viable strategy in 2025. It’s entirely possible to build a team of ~100 and have a massive impact (e.g. WhatsApp, Stripe, DuckDuckGo, Khan Academy, Figma, Replit). But don’t rely on it.