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The People Who Got You Here Won’t Get You There: Why Companies Outgrow Their Teams

One of the toughest lessons for business leaders is recognizing that the employees and teams who helped build a company to a certain level may not be the same people who can take it to the next stage of growth. This isn’t about disloyalty or underappreciating early contributors—it’s about the natural evolution of businesses and the need for new skills, expertise, and mindsets as complexity increases.

As the saying goes, “The people who got you here won’t keep you here, and they certainly won’t get you there.” A company that clings to the same talent at every stage of its growth risks stagnation, inefficiency, and ultimately, failure. Instead, leaders must continuously upgrade their teams by bringing in higher-caliber talent that can elevate performance across the board—because, as the saying goes, “a rising tide floats all ships.”

Here are seven key reasons why companies often outgrow their teams and need to bring in new talent to keep scaling.

1. The Skills Needed Change

Startups and early-stage businesses often rely on generalists—employees who wear multiple hats and thrive in chaotic, fast-moving environments. However, as companies grow, they need specialists with deep expertise in critical areas such as sales optimization, data analytics, and operational efficiency. The scrappy, do-it-all mentality that worked in the early days can become a liability when a company requires precision, consistency, and execution at scale.

2. The Complexity of Operations Increases

As businesses scale, they face more complex challenges—larger customer bases, expanded product lines, regulatory requirements, and multi-tiered organizational structures. Employees who thrived in a small, flexible team may struggle with the process-driven, structured approach required at higher levels of growth. Without experienced professionals who understand how to manage this complexity, the company risks inefficiency and bottlenecks.

3. Performance Expectations Rise

A company’s first salespeople may be passionate and persistent, but as the company grows, closing deals becomes more about structured sales processes, data-driven decision-making, and efficiency. Hiring stronger, more organized salespeople with a higher win rate or close rate can improve the entire team’s performance—including the legacy laggards. The same applies to every department: higher-performing employees set new benchmarks that lift the entire organization.

4. Leadership Needs Evolve

In the early stages, leaders can get by with vision and hustle alone. However, as teams grow, leadership must evolve to include structured decision-making, strategic planning, and people management skills. Founders and early executives who struggle with delegation or long-term vision may need to step aside for more experienced leaders who can scale the business effectively.

5. Cultural Fit Shifts Over Time

The culture of a 10-person startup is vastly different from that of a 500-person company. What once felt like an intimate, close-knit team can become a complex web of departments and hierarchies. Employees who once thrived in a loose, unstructured environment may resist the policies, performance tracking, and accountability measures that come with growth. New hires can help reinforce and evolve the culture to support the next phase.

6. Market Conditions and Competitive Pressures Intensify

As companies grow, they enter new markets, face tougher competition, and deal with increased customer expectations. What worked in the early days may not be enough to compete at a higher level. More experienced professionals—whether in sales, marketing, product development, or operations—can bring fresh strategies and best practices that help the company stay ahead.

7. Investor and Stakeholder Expectations Increase

Companies that secure funding or go public are under greater scrutiny to deliver consistent results. Investors expect efficiency, profitability, and sustainable growth. Employees who were comfortable operating in a low-structure, high-risk environment may not be the right fit for a company that now has to meet aggressive revenue targets and performance metrics.

The Importance of Upgrading Talent

Bringing in higher-performing individuals isn’t about replacing old employees just for the sake of it—it’s about ensuring that the team collectively improves. When stronger talent joins, they set a new standard, elevate team performance, and create a more competitive, results-driven culture. In sales, for example, hiring top-performing salespeople can improve the overall win rate, making even lower-performing reps better by setting a higher bar and introducing new tactics.

Ultimately, leaders must recognize that maintaining loyalty to underperforming teams at the expense of company growth does a disservice to everyone. Businesses that embrace the need for fresh talent will continue evolving, while those that resist necessary change risk stagnation—or worse, decline.

To keep climbing to new heights, companies must continuously ask: Do we have the right people for where we’re going next? If the answer is no, it’s time to bring in the talent that can elevate the entire team—because when the tide rises, all ships rise with it.

Paul Fioravanti, MBA, MPA, CTP, is the CEO & Managing Partner of QORVAL Partners, LLC, a FL-based advisory firm (founded 1996 by Jim Malone, six-time Fortune 100/500 CEO) Qorval is a US-based turnaround, restructuring, business optimization and interim management firm. Fioravanti is a proven turnaround CEO with experience in more than 90 situations in more than 40 industries. He earned his MBA and MPA from the University of Rhode Island and completed advanced post-master’s research in finance and marketing at Bryant University. He is a Certified Turnaround Professional and member of the Turnaround Management Association, the Private Directors Association, Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), Association of Merger & Acquisition Advisors (AM&MA), the American Bankruptcy Institute, and IMCUSA. Copyright 2025, Qorval Partners LLC and/or Paul Fioravanti, MBA, MPA, CTP. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution without permission.