Reaching Series A is a major achievement—only 7.4% of startups make it that far. But getting there doesn’t mean the hard part is over. Surviving the scale is often more demanding than the early stages.

I’ve seen this firsthand. At Monzo, I experienced rapid growth and all the challenges that came with it. Now, building Gradient Labs, I’ve learned how to grow smarter and avoid common mistakes.

Know When to Innovate — and When Not To
In the early days, many startups try to reinvent everything—from job titles to internal systems. But this drains time and resources. In fact, 13% of startups fail because they try to do too much.

Innovation is important, but it must be focused. Use proven practices where they make sense, and spend your energy on what truly sets your business apart. Learning from other founders’ experiences can help you avoid costly missteps.

Rethink Transparency As You Grow
At Monzo, we started with complete transparency. Every team conversation was open, every Slack channel public. It created trust and helped everyone stay informed.

But as we grew, too much information became noise. We adjusted by making updates more focused and easier to digest. Surviving the scale meant changing how we communicated — not abandoning transparency, but refining it so it remained effective.

Hire for Now — and the Future
Early on, budgets are tight. But hiring cheaply can cost more later. To attract and keep top talent, you need to pay what they’re worth.

Strong hires do more than check skill boxes. The best candidates also understand the problem space. If you’re building a fraud detection platform, your data scientists should know how fraud works. That knowledge leads to better solutions, faster.

Your team is your biggest asset — invest in them wisely.

Expect the Unexpected
Surviving the scale means preparing for turbulence. Systems will crash. Customers may leave. Regulations might change overnight. And yes, investors can back out at the worst time.

That’s startup life. Growth isn’t smooth — it’s unpredictable. Resilience is essential. Founders who succeed don’t have fewer setbacks; they’re just quicker to adapt and move forward.

Scaling a company is tough, but it’s possible. If you stay focused, flexible, and committed to learning, you’ll not only survive the scale — you’ll thrive through it.