4 Phases of Scaling Your Business

February 15, 2023•2 min read

Today, I would like to discuss the 4 Phases of Scaling Your Business for a healthy SaaS Tech Company. These Internal Investment phases are not your typical external funding rounds like the traditional Series A, B, and C. The 4 Phases of Scaling Your Business are about Internal Investment and are defined by company functionality in 3 areas of focus:

1. Product Development

2. Sales

3. Infrastructure Investment

The areas of focus are used to identify the phases of company functionality. Where a company has progressed along product development and sales life cycles determines how much of an investment in infrastructure is necessary. The 4 phases are as follows:

1. Beginning: Core product is in development, minimal investment in infrastructure in necessary, and there is a heavy focus on new sales

2. Middle: Core product development is more stable, additional investment in infrastructure is necessary, and continued heavy focus on sales – company is starting to see growth.

3. Scaling: Core product development is stable and new features are showing promise, substantial investment in infrastructure is required – people, processes, and systems , heavy focus on sales continues – growth is showing substantial scale.

4. Growth: Core product is stable, new features are continually rolled out, Sales is providing market share and additional scaling opportunities, additional infrastructure investments are minimal and are paying off with robust reporting mechanisms to provide sound business decisions.

If the investment in infrastructure is not made timely and at the proper magnitude in each of the phases, then the company falls behind and during scaling, struggles to maintain momentum. Proper investment in infrastructure at the correct time sets the company up for success and enables easier transition for external investment opportunities.

Do you know what Internal Investment Phase your company is in? Did you make the right amount of infrastructure investment when necessary? If you say you don’t know what phase or didn’t make the investment timely, you are probably experiencing some growth issues. Growth issues in accounting can present themselves as extended closing of the books, inability to get timely and consistent reporting, disconnection of data points among tools, over-utilized accounting departments, and frustration in general from other functions in the company as it relates to finance.

The investment in infrastructure is almost as crucial as product development and sales. With a sound infrastructure, a company can adapt easily to scaling and growth challenges while maintaining core reporting functionality for better business decisions.

So I leave you with a question: Is your infrastructure truly set up for the challenge of growth and scale? If not, what are you going to do about it?

Erica Hansen

I'm not your typical accountant. I’m the person that runs toward the fire, not away from it! I know what it is like to be knee-deep in alligators daily. Companies are changing rapidly and sometimes it feels like you are drowning in day-to-day chaos, blindfolded by bad data, or wondering why your team is struggling to keep up. Sometimes, it even feels like the house is on fire, and sometimes IT IS! I've run the gamut and helped leaders make tough calls, realign and train teams, and drive results across the organization. With decades of experience driving transformation from the C-Suite and beyond, I specialize in turning complexity into clarity for companies across many industries. I have experience with all sizes of companies and also include high-growth, startups, and distressed/turnaround entities. As the CEO and Founder of The Wisdom Collective companies, I Help Businesses Optimize Operations and Accounting for Exponential Growth. I Lead Transformations in Companies, Specializing in Reorganizations of Systems, Processes, and People to Leverage Scale and Grow Profitably. I've been in the trenches for CFO and COO work with companies both rapidly expanding and restructuring. And I understand what it takes to optimize resources, talent, and ultimately profit. The Wisdom Collective companies offers assistance for business growth and stabilization through several channels: *Operations and Accounting Management Consulting & Strategy *Project Accounting Support & Fractional and interim assistance *Reorganizations & Transformations Support *Leadership & Team Training programs *Executive Coaching *Community Building through Learning, Round Tables, & Masterminds *Educational Speaking *Board participation & Advisory *Published Content & Books (Coming 2026) *Live Programs, Events, & Retreats (Coming 2026) *Podcast learning With 30+ years of addressing business challenges one after another, and seeing a pattern of unsustainable requirements on the workforce, challenges in the economy and business environment, I felt compelled to help companies bridge the gaps between reality and efficiency. The Wisdom Collective companies were built to address those gaps and challenges and add value to companies and their teams. Business doesn’t have to be this hard – What if it COULD be easy? Running a business doesn’t have to cost your sanity. You are not alone. Let’s connect and compare notes! Want to learn more every week? Subscribe to my Podcast - debut July 2025: https://executivediaries.com

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