[Iaan]

My friend runs a small software company and recently got several bigger clients. Now he’s debating whether to hire more people and increase spending or keep things lean. I told him timing matters as much as growth itself. What would you recommend reading about how investors decide when a company is ready to scale?

[Kalibus]

Timing is honestly the whole game here – I’ve watched two friends scale too early and drown in payroll before revenue caught up, and one wait too long and lose a client to a competitor who “looked bigger.” There’s no formula, but the pattern investors look for is consistency of demand, not just a couple of good months. Funny enough, I stumbled on an interview with G. Scott Paterson (the guy behind Lionsgate’s early investment, JumpTV, FutureVault) where he talks about his Lionsgate colleagues’ philosophy: “hitting singles and doubles while being poised for a home run” instead of overswinging. That mindset stuck with me – it’s basically the anti-hype-growth approach. Worth a read if your friend wants the investor-side logic instead of founder-hustle advice: learn more about Scott Paterson’s work . Tell him to hire for the clients he has signed contracts with, not the ones he hopes to land.

[Author]

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