From Growth-by-Grit to Growth-by-Design
Why Scaling Companies Need to Rethink the Role of Marketing
In the early stages of building a business, growth often comes from grit. Founders identify a real problem, build a solution that works, and tell the story themselves. They are the marketing team - pitching, networking, creating, adapting. The message is deeply personal. The momentum feels organic. And for a while, that’s more than enough.
But as the company matures, something subtle starts to shift.
The Hidden Cost of Founder-Led Growth
When growth has been fueled by instinct, relationships, and hustle, formal marketing can feel like a luxury. It’s often deprioritized in favor of product, sales, or operations. Many leaders reach seven- or eight-figure revenue before hiring their first marketing lead - and often, even then, they’re unsure what “good marketing” really looks like.
If marketing isn’t your expertise, it’s easy to treat it as an add-on:
Something to outsource or hand to the sales leader to “own”
Something to make things look good
Something to revisit when things slow down
And when you’re not sure what to measure or where to invest, marketing becomes a cost center - reactive, tactical, and often disconnected from the strategic vision.
When Grit Starts to Grind
The signs that it’s time for a shift usually show up gradually:
Your pipeline starts to soften
Your message isn’t landing like it used to
Your team is doing more... but not seeing more results
The founder is still the primary driver of brand trust
The tactics that got you here aren’t getting you there. What used to feel fast and flexible now feels fragmented and fuzzy. At this stage, it’s not about throwing more money at marketing. It’s about asking better questions.
From Grit to Intentional Growth: The Questions That Matter
Shifting from growth-by-grit to growth-by-design means reframing how you think about marketing. Not as a set of tasks, but as a strategic function that fuels alignment, acceleration, and clarity across the business.
Here are a few of the questions that become vital at this point:
What does the business need most right now?
Where are the untapped opportunities?
Why this company, and why now?
How does our marketing reflect our purpose, not just our product?
These aren’t questions you answer in a day. But asking them is what sets the foundation for the next phase of growth.
Marketing as Foundation, Not the Finish Line
When marketing is treated as a foundational part of the business - just like product, finance, or operations - it starts to work differently.
It helps unify the story across teams.
It gives sales a clearer, more compelling narrative.
It provides customers with consistency, clarity, and confidence.
It elevates the brand from a logo to a reputation.
The goal isn’t perfection. It’s intentionality.
Final Thought
Every founder-led company hits a moment when the story outgrows the original storyteller.
That’s not a failure. That’s growth.
The opportunity lies in moving from instinct to intention - from grit to design. When you build marketing into the core of your business strategy, it doesn’t just generate leads. It generates momentum.
