Scale startup after achieving product-market fit by: (1) Doubling down on best growth channel (SEO, paid ads, sales), (2) Hiring for growth roles (sales, marketing, engineering), (3) Automating/systemizing operations, (4) Raising growth capital (Series A/B), (5) Expanding to new markets/segments. Focus: 10x revenue in 18-24 months.
Scaling playbook (only after PMF!): PRE-REQUISITES: (1) Product-market fit validated (40%+ Month 2 retention), (2) Unit economics work (LTV > 3x CAC), (3) One proven growth channel, (4) 12+ months runway. Don't scale before these—wastes money. SCALING STEPS: (1) Identify best channel—Which channel has best CAC/LTV? SEO (long-term), Paid ads (fast), Sales outbound (high-touch), Partnerships, Referrals. Double down on #1, cut failing channels. (2) Hire for growth—Sales team (if B2B), Growth marketer (if B2C), Engineers (to speed up product velocity), Customer success (to retain customers). Hire slowly, fire fast. (3) Systemize operations—Document processes (sales playbook, onboarding flow, customer support SOP). Automate repetitive tasks. Implement CRM/analytics tools. (4) Raise growth capital—Series A (₹20-50 crore) to fuel customer acquisition and hiring. Time it when: ₹50L+ MRR, 3x YoY growth, positive unit economics. (5) Expand TAM—New geographies (US → Europe → India), New customer segments (SMB → Mid-market → Enterprise), New product lines. (6) Optimize conversion funnel—Improve signup → activation → paid conversion. 10% improvement = 10% more revenue with same traffic. (7) Build brand—Content marketing, thought leadership, PR. Brand lowers CAC over time (organic traffic). (8) Scale team carefully—Hire 1 person at a time, wait 3 months, assess. Don't hire 20 people at once (culture dilution, burn explosion). PITFALLS: Scaling before PMF (money wasted), Scaling too fast (burn too high, culture breaks), Scaling on credit/debt (dangerous—VCs fund growth, not loans), Ignoring unit economics (growth at losses = death). Timeline: 18-24 months to 10x revenue post-PMF.
Zoom: Found PMF with 100 enterprise customers (high NPS). Scaled via bottom-up adoption (free tier → team upgrade → enterprise contract). 10x revenue in 2 years.
Swiggy: Found PMF in Bangalore (strong retention). Cloned playbook to 8 cities in 18 months. Raised Series B to fund city launches. Scaled to market leader.
Premature scaling: Raised $5M Series A with weak PMF. Hired 50 people, opened 3 offices. Burned $400K/month. Product still didn't retain users. Shut down in 12 months.
After achieving: (1) PMF (40%+ Month 2 retention), (2) Proven channel (repeatable customer acquisition), (3) Unit economics work (LTV > 3x CAC), (4) 12+ months runway.
Target 3x year-over-year revenue growth post-PMF. Slower = losing to competitors. Faster = risk breaking operations/culture. Balance growth with sustainability.
DON'T SCALE. Fix LTV/CAC first: Increase prices, reduce CAC (better targeting), improve retention (feature improvements). Scaling on bad economics = guaranteed failure.
Stop guessing what to build. Get access to 3,000+ real problems from Reddit, Twitter, Quora, and more—with AI analysis and market validation.
Browse 3,000+ Problems →