Four Hidden Constraints That Stall Scaling — and How to Spot Yours
- claire3291
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Scaling is harder than starting.
That may sound strange if you’ve already battled through the chaos of building your first product, finding customers, raising funding. But the crunch comes later.
Research shows 97% of new firms never make it past $5M in revenue. Only 3% keep scaling .
Why? Because growth always hits a constraint.
In the Theory of Constraints, Eliyahu Goldratt describes it simply: a system can only move as fast as its slowest part. Like a chain, your company’s strength is defined by its weakest link.
It’s the same in scaling: most of your business may be working brilliantly, but one hidden constraint holds everything back. Push harder in the wrong place, and you only create more stress.
Through my work as a founder and now Scaling Up coach, I see the same four constraints surface again and again.
1. People
You can’t scale without the right people in the right seats. Patrick Lencioni’s Working Genius shows how missing team “energies” (Wonder, Discernment, Enablement, etc.) leave blind spots. When the mix is wrong, execution stalls.
Signs this is your constraint:
The founder is still the bottleneck.
The team works hard but priorities misfire.
Leaders for the next stage are missing.
2. Strategy
At start-up stage, hustle and gut feel are enough. At scale-up stage, you need a repeatable, differentiated strategy. Without it, momentum stalls and competitors catch up.
Signs this is your constraint:
Growth flattens despite effort.
Hard to explain “why customers choose us.”
Leadership reacts more than shapes the market.
3. Execution
Brilliant strategy without disciplined execution is wasted energy. Verne Harnish calls this the “Rockefeller Habits” — the rhythms that turn plans into progress. Without them, leaders feel like they’re pushing string.
Signs this is your constraint:
Projects start strong, then stall.
Weekly meetings drag with little accountability.
The business feels busy, not productive.
4. Cash
Cash is the oxygen of growth. Scale-ups often burn cash faster than they earn it. Profit on paper isn’t enough if your working capital cycle chokes growth.
Signs this is your constraint:
Constant fundraising or cash-firefighting.
Revenue grows but margins don’t.
Anxiety about making payroll.
The Hidden Constraint: The Founder/CEO
Here’s the toughest truth: often, the biggest constraint is the founder themselves.
Sometimes it’s because People, Strategy, Execution, or Cash haven’t progressed — so the founder feels forced to stay “in everything.” Other times, it’s because the founder struggles to let go, even when the company is ready for them to step back.
Letting go isn’t a one-time event. It’s a repeated process of role re-crafting as the company grows:
From founder as doer → to CEO as leader.
From visionary storyteller → to data-driven decision-maker.
From chief firefighter → to architect of processes and culture.
Each stage of scaling requires more delegation, more reliance on data, and stronger standard operating procedures. If the founder doesn’t evolve, they become the choke point.
I’ve seen this first-hand: founders who learn to let go and build systems unlock incredible scale. Those who don’t, stall.
Why This Matters
The trick is that you rarely suffer all four (or five) constraints equally. Usually, one is the bottleneck right now.
The Theory of Constraints tells us the key is to:
Identify the constraint.
Focus on it relentlessly.
Elevate it until it’s no longer the bottleneck.
Then move to the next constraint.
That’s why I created the Constraint-Solver — a focused, three-session coaching sprint for founders and CEOs. Over 90 days, we uncover your biggest constraint and give you the clarity, confidence, and momentum to break through it.
Over to You
Which constraint feels like the bottleneck in your business today — People, Strategy, Execution, Cash, or even you as the founder?
If you’re not sure, that’s the signal to act. Book a pilot Constraint-Solver session and let’s uncover it together.
Because scaling shouldn’t be guesswork. And no founder should have to carry the constraint alone.
