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Company problems at different stages of growth

56 situations that bring management boards to us. Each description covers symptoms, causes that depend on company scale, diagnostic questions, indicators, the method of solving the problem and the first step. Descriptions are tagged with the area, development phase, revenue and headcount range, business model and financial situation in which the problem occurs most often.

Area:
Filters: phase, revenue, headcount, model, profitability

Growth strategyDelegation phase · Coordination phase "We have a dozen growth initiatives and finish none of them"Revenue PLN 40m–1bn · 50⁠–⁠999 people
B2B SaaS, E-commerce and D2C, Marketplaces and platforms, B2B and professional services · Around break-even, Stable positive EBITDAMethod: Growth Strategy Map + Lemur OS Growth strategyDirection phase · Delegation phase “A few customers account for most of our revenue”Revenue up to PLN 200m · 1⁠–⁠249 employees
B2B SaaS, B2B and professional services, Manufacturing and distribution · Around break-even, Stable positive EBITDAMethod: Growth Strategy Map + B2B Sales System Growth strategyDirection phase · Delegation phase “We are entering a new market without a validation plan”Revenue up to PLN 200m · 1⁠–⁠249 employees
B2B SaaS, E-commerce and D2C, Manufacturing and distribution · Negative EBITDA, Around break-evenMethod: Growth Strategy Map + Unit economics Growth strategyCoordination phase · Renewal phase “A new business line is cannibalising the revenue of the existing one”Revenue PLN 40m–1bn · 50⁠–⁠999 employees
B2B SaaS, E-commerce and D2C, Media and publishers, Manufacturing and distribution · Around break-even, Stable positive EBITDAMethod: Growth Strategy Map + Unit economics Growth strategyDirection phase · Delegation phase "Revenue is growing, but the EBITDA margin is falling"Revenue up to PLN 1bn · 50⁠–⁠999 people
B2B SaaS, E-commerce and D2C, Marketplaces and platforms, B2B and professional services · Around break-even, Stable positive EBITDAMethod: Unit economics Growth strategyCoordination phase · Renewal phase "The market has matured and growth has stalled"Revenue above PLN 40m · 250+ people
E-commerce and D2C, Media and publishers, B2B and professional services, Manufacturing and distribution · Stable positive EBITDAMethod: Growth Strategy Map + Revenue Engine Map Growth strategyDirection phase · Delegation phase “Investors ask about metrics we don't track”Revenue up to PLN 200m · 1⁠–⁠249 employees
B2B SaaS, E-commerce and D2C, Marketplaces and platforms · Negative EBITDA, Around break-evenMethod: Unit economics + Data Value Chain Growth strategyCoordination phase "After the acquisition, the two companies still operate separately"Revenue above PLN 40m · 50+ people
B2B SaaS, Media and publishers, B2B and professional services, Manufacturing and distribution · Stable positive EBITDAMethod: Lemur OS + Operating model Growth strategyDelegation phase · Coordination phase “Our price list hasn't changed in years, while costs keep rising”Revenue up to PLN 200m · 1⁠–⁠249 employees
B2B SaaS, B2B and professional services, Manufacturing and distribution · Around break-even, Stable positive EBITDAMethod: Unit economics + Revenue Engine Map SalesDirection phase · Delegation phase "The sales forecast regularly misses actual results"Revenue up to PLN 200m · 50⁠–⁠999 people
B2B SaaS, B2B and professional services, Manufacturing and distribution · Negative EBITDA, Around break-evenMethod: B2B Sales System SalesCreativity phase · Direction phase "Only the founder sells"Revenue up to PLN 40m · 1⁠–⁠249 employees
B2B SaaS, B2B and professional services · Negative EBITDA, Around break-evenMethod: B2B Sales System SalesDelegation phase · Coordination phase "The sales cycle gets longer quarter after quarter"Revenue PLN 40m–1bn · 50⁠–⁠999 employees
B2B SaaS, B2B and professional services, Manufacturing and distribution · Around break-even, Stable positive EBITDAMethod: B2B Sales System SalesCoordination phase · Renewal phase "We are winning fewer and fewer proposals"Revenue PLN 40m–1bn · 50⁠–⁠999 employees
B2B and professional services, Manufacturing and distribution, B2B SaaS · Around break-even, Stable positive EBITDAMethod: B2B Sales System SalesCreativity phase · Direction phase "We sell to anyone who asks"Revenue up to PLN 40m · 1⁠–⁠249 employees
B2B SaaS, B2B and professional services, Marketplaces and platforms · Negative EBITDA, Around break-evenMethod: B2B sales system + Unit economics SalesDirection phase · Delegation phase "New sales reps miss quota for six months"Revenue up to PLN 200m · 1⁠–⁠249 employees
B2B SaaS, B2B and professional services · Negative EBITDA, Around break-evenMethod: B2B Sales System SalesCoordination phase · Renewal phase "Discounts have become the norm"Revenue above PLN 40m · 50+ employees
Manufacturing and distribution, B2B and professional services, B2B SaaS · Around break-even, Stable positive EBITDAMethod: B2B sales system + Unit economics SalesDirection phase · Delegation phase "Sales doesn't want leads from marketing"Revenue up to PLN 200m · 1⁠–⁠249 employees
B2B SaaS, B2B and professional services, Manufacturing and distribution · Negative EBITDA, Around break-evenMethod: B2B sales system + Revenue Engine Map SalesDelegation phase "The CRM is incomplete and nobody trusts it"Revenue up to PLN 1bn · 50⁠–⁠999 employees
B2B and professional services, Manufacturing and distribution, B2B SaaS · Around break-even, Stable positive EBITDAMethod: B2B sales system + Data Value Chain SalesDirection phase · Delegation phase "We want to sell to large companies, but our process is built for small ones"Revenue up to PLN 200m · 1⁠–⁠249 employees
B2B SaaS, B2B and professional services · Negative EBITDA, Around break-evenMethod: B2B sales system + Unit economics MarketingDelegation phase · Coordination phase "Google traffic is falling because of AI answers"Revenue up to PLN 1bn · 1⁠–⁠999 people
Media and publishers, E-commerce and D2C, B2B and professional services, B2B SaaS · Around break-even, Stable positive EBITDAMethod: Growth and Visibility Audit MarketingDirection phase · Delegation phase "Customer acquisition cost is growing faster than revenue"Revenue up to PLN 1bn · 50⁠–⁠999 employees
E-commerce and D2C, B2B SaaS, Marketplaces and platforms · Negative EBITDA, Around break-evenMethod: Unit economics + Revenue Engine Map MarketingCreativity phase · Direction phase "Most customers come from a single paid channel"Revenue up to PLN 200m · 1⁠–⁠249 employees
E-commerce and D2C, Marketplaces and platforms, B2B SaaS · Negative EBITDA, Around break-evenMethod: Growth and Visibility Audit + Revenue Engine Map MarketingDirection phase · Delegation phase "Customers don't know the brand until a sales rep calls"Revenue up to PLN 200m · 1⁠–⁠249 employees
B2B SaaS, B2B and professional services, Manufacturing and distribution · Around break-even, Stable positive EBITDAMethod: Growth and Visibility Audit MarketingDelegation phase · Coordination phase "We publish a lot of content with no effect on sales"Revenue up to PLN 200m · 50⁠–⁠999 employees
B2B SaaS, B2B and professional services, Manufacturing and distribution · Around break-even, Stable positive EBITDAMethod: Growth and Visibility Audit MarketingDirection phase · Delegation phase "Since the changes to consent and cookies, we don't know what works"Revenue up to PLN 1bn · 50⁠–⁠999 employees
E-commerce and D2C, Marketplaces and platforms, Media and publishers · Around break-even, Stable positive EBITDAMethod: Growth and Visibility Audit + Data Value Chain MarketingDirection phase · Delegation phase "Shop customers buy once and never come back"Revenue up to PLN 200m · 1⁠–⁠249 employees
E-commerce and D2C · Negative EBITDA, Around break-evenMethod: Revenue Engine Map + Unit economics Product and monetisationDirection phase "Revenue is growing, but customers are leaving"Revenue up to PLN 200m · 1⁠–⁠249 people
B2B SaaS, Marketplaces and platforms, E-commerce and D2C · Negative EBITDA, Around break-evenMethod: Revenue Engine Map + Data Value Chain Product and monetisationDirection phase · Delegation phase "The product roadmap is a list of sales requests"Revenue up to PLN 200m · 50⁠–⁠999 employees
B2B SaaS, Marketplaces and platforms · Negative EBITDA, Around break-evenMethod: Operating model Product and monetisationCreativity phase · Direction phase "We have customers, but no product-market fit"Revenue up to PLN 40m · 1⁠–⁠249 employees
B2B SaaS, Marketplaces and platforms, E-commerce and D2C · Negative EBITDAMethod: Revenue Engine Map + Unit economics Product and monetisationDelegation phase · Coordination phase "We don't know which parts of our offering customers pay for"Revenue PLN 40m–1bn · 50⁠–⁠999 employees
B2B SaaS, Media and publishers, B2B and professional services · Around break-even, Stable positive EBITDAMethod: Unit economics + Revenue Engine Map Product and monetisationDirection phase · Delegation phase "Onboarding a new customer takes months"Revenue up to PLN 200m · 50⁠–⁠999 employees
B2B SaaS, B2B and professional services · Negative EBITDA, Around break-evenMethod: Revenue Engine Map + Operating model Product and monetisationCoordination phase · Renewal phase "Technical debt is blocking product development"Revenue PLN 40m–1bn · 50⁠–⁠999 employees
B2B SaaS, E-commerce and D2C, Media and publishers, Marketplaces and platforms · Around break-even, Stable positive EBITDAMethod: Operating model Product and monetisationCreativity phase · Direction phase "The platform has lots of listings and few transactions"Revenue up to PLN 40m · 1⁠–⁠249 employees
Marketplaces and platforms · Negative EBITDAMethod: Revenue Engine Map + Unit economics Product and monetisationCoordination phase · Renewal phase "Site traffic is growing, content revenue is flat"Revenue up to PLN 1bn · 50⁠–⁠999 employees
Media and publishers · Negative EBITDA, Around break-evenMethod: Revenue Engine Map + Growth and Visibility Audit Data and analyticsDelegation phase · Coordination phase "We have dashboards, but decisions are made on gut feeling"Revenue PLN 40m–1bn · 50+ employees
E-commerce and D2C, B2B and professional services, Manufacturing and distribution, Media and publishers · Around break-even, Stable positive EBITDAMethod: Data Value Chain + Operating model Data and analyticsDelegation phase · Coordination phase "Our data is not fit for AI"Revenue above PLN 40m · 50+ employees
Media and publishers, E-commerce and D2C, B2B and professional services, B2B SaaS · Around break-even, Stable positive EBITDAMethod: Data Value Chain + LEMUR AI Readiness Index Data and analyticsDelegation phase · Coordination phase "Departments calculate the same metrics using different definitions"Revenue PLN 40m–1bn · 50⁠–⁠999 employees
B2B SaaS, E-commerce and D2C, Marketplaces and platforms, B2B and professional services · Around break-even, Stable positive EBITDAMethod: Data Value Chain Data and analyticsDelegation phase · Coordination phase "The board report takes a week to compile by hand"Revenue PLN 40m–1bn · 50⁠–⁠999 people
Manufacturing and distribution, B2B and professional services, E-commerce and D2C · Around break-even, Stable positive EBITDAMethod: Data Value Chain Data and analyticsCoordination phase "We don't have a single view of the customer"Revenue above PLN 40m · 250+ employees
E-commerce and D2C, Media and publishers, Marketplaces and platforms · Around break-even, Stable positive EBITDAMethod: Data Value Chain + Revenue Engine Map Data and analyticsCoordination phase · Renewal phase "We built a data warehouse that nobody uses"Revenue above PLN 200m · 250+ employees
Manufacturing and distribution, E-commerce and D2C, B2B and professional services · Stable positive EBITDAMethod: Data Value Chain Organisation and managementDirection phase · Delegation phase "The founder decides everything and slows the company down"Revenue up to PLN 200m · 1⁠–⁠249 people
B2B SaaS, B2B and professional services, E-commerce and D2C · Negative EBITDA, Around break-evenMethod: Operating model + Revenue Engine Map Organisation and managementDelegation phase · Coordination phase “IT vendors miss deadlines and the SLA is not enforced”Revenue above PLN 40m · 50+ employees
E-commerce and D2C, Media and publishers, Manufacturing and distribution, B2B and professional services · Around break-even, Stable positive EBITDAMethod: Operating model Organisation and managementDirection phase · Delegation phase “Projects stalled after the leader left”Revenue up to PLN 200m · 1⁠–⁠249 employees
B2B SaaS, B2B and professional services, E-commerce and D2C · Negative EBITDA, Around break-evenMethod: Lemur OS Organisation and managementCoordination phase “Departments pursue their own goals at the expense of company results”Revenue above PLN 200m · 250+ employees
Manufacturing and distribution, E-commerce and D2C, B2B and professional services · Around break-even, Stable positive EBITDAMethod: Lemur OS Organisation and managementDirection phase · Delegation phase “We lack a second line of managers”Revenue up to PLN 200m · 1⁠–⁠249 employees
B2B SaaS, B2B and professional services, Manufacturing and distribution, E-commerce and D2C · Around break-even, Stable positive EBITDAMethod: Lemur OS + Operating model Organisation and managementCoordination phase · Renewal phase “The reorganisation changed the structure, but not the way we work”Revenue above PLN 40m · 250+ employees
Manufacturing and distribution, Media and publishers, B2B and professional services · Around break-even, Stable positive EBITDAMethod: Lemur OS Organisation and managementDirection phase · Delegation phase “We introduced OKRs and nothing changed”Revenue up to PLN 200m · 50⁠–⁠999 employees
B2B SaaS, E-commerce and D2C, Marketplaces and platforms · Negative EBITDA, Around break-evenMethod: Lemur OS Organisation and managementDirection phase · Delegation phase “Headcount is growing faster than revenue”Revenue up to PLN 200m · 50⁠–⁠999 employees
B2B SaaS, B2B and professional services, Marketplaces and platforms · Negative EBITDA, Around break-evenMethod: Unit economics + AI Use Case Portfolio Transformation (Lemur OS)Coordination phase · Renewal phase "Our transformation is a list of projects without a common goal"Revenue above PLN 40m · 250+ people
E-commerce and D2C, Media and publishers, B2B and professional services, Manufacturing and distribution · Around break-even, Stable positive EBITDAMethod: Lemur OS + Lemur Compass Transformation (Lemur OS)Delegation phase · Coordination phase “After the project ends, teams return to old habits”Revenue PLN 40m–1bn · 50+ employees
Media and publishers, B2B and professional services, Manufacturing and distribution · Around break-even, Stable positive EBITDAMethod: Lemur OS Transformation (Lemur OS)Direction phase · Delegation phase “Critical processes run on spreadsheets and e-mail”Revenue up to PLN 200m · 1⁠–⁠249 employees
E-commerce and D2C, B2B and professional services, Manufacturing and distribution · Around break-even, Stable positive EBITDAMethod: Lemur OS + Data Value Chain Transformation (Lemur OS)Delegation phase · Coordination phase “We have dozens of SaaS tools and nobody knows what we're paying for”Revenue PLN 40m–1bn · 50⁠–⁠999 employees
B2B SaaS, E-commerce and D2C, Marketplaces and platforms, Media and publishers · Around break-even, Stable positive EBITDAMethod: Operating model + Data Value Chain AI in the organisationDelegation phase · Coordination phase "We have several AI pilots and no results"Revenue above PLN 40m · 50+ people
B2B SaaS, E-commerce and D2C, B2B and professional services, Manufacturing and distribution · Around break-even, Stable positive EBITDAMethod: AI Use Case Portfolio + From Pilot to Scale AI in the organisationDirection phase · Delegation phase "Teams use AI without rules or training"Revenue up to PLN 1bn · 1⁠–⁠999 people
B2B SaaS, B2B and professional services, Media and publishers, E-commerce and D2C · Around break-even, Stable positive EBITDAMethod: LEMUR AI Readiness Index AI in the organisationDelegation phase · Coordination phase "We don't know which of our systems fall under the EU AI Act"Revenue above PLN 40m · 50+ people
B2B SaaS, B2B and professional services, Manufacturing and distribution, E-commerce and D2C · Around break-even, Stable positive EBITDAMethod: LEMUR AI Readiness Index + AI Use Case Portfolio AI in the organisationDelegation phase · Coordination phase "The board expects AI to be implemented but has not defined the goal"Revenue above PLN 40m · 50+ people
E-commerce and D2C, Media and publishers, B2B and professional services, Manufacturing and distribution · Around break-even, Stable positive EBITDAMethod: LEMUR AI Readiness Index + AI Use Case Portfolio

How we classify companies

The filters are based on organisational growth models and on definitions used in the European Union and by analyst firms.

Development stage

The phase names come from L. Greiner's model of organisational growth (Harvard Business Review, 1972, updated 1998): creativity, direction, delegation and coordination. Each phase ends in a management crisis: of leadership, autonomy, control and red tape. We describe the renewal phase based on Greiner's fifth phase (collaboration) and I. Adizes' organisational life cycle model (1988). We use the five-stage model by N. Churchill and V. Lewis (1983) for companies with up to 49 employees.

Annual revenue

The PLN 40m and PLN 200m thresholds roughly correspond to the turnover thresholds in the EU SME definition (EUR 10m for a small and EUR 50m for a medium-sized enterprise). The PLN 200m–1bn range falls in the lower part of the range that Gartner assigns to midsize enterprises (USD 50m–1bn in revenue).

Headcount

The 1⁠–⁠49 and 50⁠–⁠249 employee ranges correspond to the headcount thresholds in the EU SME definition (small enterprise: fewer than 50 employees; medium-sized: fewer than 250).

Business model

Six models in which the causes of the same symptoms differ the most: B2B SaaS, e-commerce and D2C, marketplaces, media, B2B services, and manufacturing and distribution.

Profitability

The financial situation, measured by EBITDA margin, changes priorities: a loss-making company protects cash and payback periods, while a profitable company can fund growth from earnings.

Development phases (Greiner model)

  • Creativity phase: the founder runs sales and product, and the company is looking for product-market fit; ends in a crisis of leadership
  • Direction phase: rapid growth under central management, first departments and processes; ends in a crisis of autonomy
  • Delegation phase: a second line of managers and decisions pushed down the organisation; ends in a crisis of control
  • Coordination phase: several business lines, markets or entities, planning and control systems; ends in a crisis of red tape
  • Renewal phase: slowing momentum, a change of business model, cross-functional collaboration and new sources of growth

Sources

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