Anti-Blitzscaling 2025: Why Lean Startups Still Need Growth Foundations

Unlimited investment, but no sales, ops or HR.

Everywhere I look, it feels like the scaleup playbook is getting rewritten.

Mira Murati raises $2B for a concept-stage company with barely a team or product.

I heard this on 20VC the other day: the first billion-dollar one-person startup might actually happen.

At best a small group of Engineers and a Founders Associate (Look it up, rebranded Office Junior for 2025)

Remember when scaling meant 500 hires and $100M raised?

VCs seem to be into it. Chasing the 1% that might win big.

But here's the thing...

↳ Building software ≠ building a business.

Selling is hard.

Not because the tech isn’t good.

But because no one knows what it is, what it does, or why they should care.

You still need someone to tell the story. To drive growth. To close deals.

My take? Go lean, sure. But not blind.

A strategy that just might work:

✅ Start with a Chief Growth Officer.

One person to lead both Sales and Marketing.

AI branding is fuzzy. Buyers are hesitant. Someone has to turn interest into income.

✅ Then hire an experienced Operations Executive.

Someone who has gone through a growth journey in a VP Ops, COO style role. - You can also combine HR into this role if you really want, and engage with HR Executives on a project basis.

Not admin or graduates. Strategic leaders who’ve done fast growth before.

Because although "no structure" sounds great (Ask Sam Bankam Fried) until legal, risk, and culture blow up.

Meta cut their People teams. Others followed. But long-term? You need foundations.

Otherwise, you're building a house with no walls.

Very soon, investors will want real companies.

The ones who built the foundations right, and early, will be ready to scale.

Looking for help in growing your team?

If you are thinking about how to build your business for explosive growth - Call 👉 DM Ellis Seder or email ell@santamonica.digital