Everyone tells you to scale fast. Investors demand it. Competitors are doing it. The entire startup ecosystem celebrates hypergrowth like it’s the only path to success. But what if the smartest move is to deliberately stay small—longer than everyone else thinks you should?
I recently sat down with Tribune to talk about why my most contrarian business decision has also been my most profitable one: refusing to scale when everyone else said I should.
Here’s the thing nobody talks about: premature scaling kills more companies than slow growth ever will. I’ve watched businesses implode because they prioritized speed over substance, hiring aggressively before their systems could handle it, accepting every client before their processes were proven. The pressure to grow is intense, but the cost of growing too fast is catastrophic.
The real test came when my company started getting flooded with new client applications. Most entrepreneurs would call that a dream scenario. I called it a decision point. I could outsource the overflow, collect commissions, and watch my revenue spike. Instead, I said no. I wasn’t confident others would deliver the same quality, and I wasn’t willing to risk my reputation for short-term revenue. That choice felt uncomfortable, but it protected what actually mattered.
What I’ve learned is that staying small isn’t about playing it safe—it’s about building the invisible infrastructure that makes scaling sustainable. I used that time to refine processes, prove systems, and develop the operational maturity to manage growth without breaking things. Through my work at Pabs Marketing, I’ve helped companies automate their operations before attempting to scale, ensuring growth amplifies efficiency instead of chaos.
The irony? Staying small longer has made every subsequent expansion more profitable and less risky. When I finally scaled, it wasn’t forced—it was natural evolution. The systems were ready. The team was prepared. The foundation could actually support the weight.
If you’ve ever wondered why some companies grow exponentially while others collapse under their own momentum, or if you’re facing your own decision about when to scale, this conversation breaks down the framework I use to decide when staying small is actually the smartest path to getting big.
Read the full piece on Tribune →
The startup world will keep celebrating overnight success stories, but the most sustainable companies are built by founders who understand that rushing to scale is just another form of recklessness.