Many founders openly talk about the challenges and triumphs that come with expanding product offerings and adding customers.
But adding colleagues especially in a remote environment comes with its own set of growing pains and valuable lessons.
I experienced that first-hand last year when my teamtripledin size.
It wasnt easy, but I learned great lessons that made me a better entrepreneur.
So let me sharewhat I discovered while scaling our team at a rate that none of us had anticipated.
Ourrapid growth came as chat emerged as the dominant medium for day-to-day communications in our new virtual reality.
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Our team size tripled from 31 to 93 employees, and the headcount continues to increase almost daily.
Today, we employ 116 people across our offices in Boulder, Colo., Amsterdam, and remotely worldwide.
A lot of people and a lot of challenges, heres what I learned from it.
Then to keep up with customer demand, our new team members had to hit the ground sprinting.
While that might be an easy default when things are hectic, it wasnt setting employees up for success.
Its a short-term decline in speed that will allow you to pick up ten-fold in the long run.
Support existing employees
As the team grows, existing employees will naturally develop in their roles.
Particularly, employees who were previously one-person departments may start managingteams for the first time.
For me,Latticewas the right to help us streamline this process and create organized accountability.
As the team expands, that leadership role evolves and becomes more indirect.
As that team doubles, triples, and even quadruples, the dynamic will inevitably shift.
This is where its key to step in with intention.
Moving quickly is a non-negotiable in the startup world, but that doesnt mean you cant also move purposefully.
Story byThierry Schellenbach
Schellenbach co-founded Stream in Amsterdam, which is now headquartered in Boulder, Colo.
Stream is anenterprise-grade chatand activity feed provider that serves more than a billion end-users.
