SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Most businesses don’t fail because of lack of demand – they stall because they reach a critical but largely misunderstood phase where their current growth strategies no longer work.
In fact, 59% of business leaders admit they’ve mistaken being busy for making progress, highlighting how easily companies plateau despite continued effort.
A new national study from Scaling.com, co-founded by the authors of The Science of Scaling, defines this phase as the Scaling Gap – the point where companies with early traction struggle to transition into sustained, exponential growth.
Based on a survey of 1,000 U.S. business leaders at companies generating $1 million or more in annual revenue, the research found the biggest barriers to scaling are internal, not external.
“Many leaders assume growth will continue if they just work harder or invest more,” said Benjamin Hardy, co-founder of Scaling.com. “What this study shows is that scaling is a fundamentally different phase – one that requires new systems, new thinking and, often, difficult structural changes.”
Business owners cited resource limitations (58%), economic conditions (54%) and internal operational constraints (48%) as the top drivers of stagnation. At the same time, nearly half pointed to financial risk (49%) and operational strain (44%) as the biggest reasons they hesitate to pursue aggressive growth.
Other key findings include:
- Internal structure is the primary constraint. Resource limitations (58%), economic conditions (54%) and operational inefficiencies (48%) are the top drivers of stagnation.
- Scaling requires reinvention, not optimization. Seventy-eight percent said achieving 10 times growth would require major changes to sales and marketing.
- Leaders themselves are often the bottleneck. Sixty-one percent said they are a bottleneck in sales and marketing, 54% in strategic focus and 53% in operations.
- Talent and focus drive disproportionate outcomes. Sixty-seven percent reported having at least one employee limiting growth, while only 50% believe their current team can support 10 times growth.
The research also revealed a key contradiction: While many leaders see themselves as the primary driver of growth, they are often the individuals limiting it – through decision-making bottlenecks, lack of delegation and structural inertia.
“Scaling isn’t about adding more – it’s about removing what no longer works,” said Blake Erickson, co-founder of Scaling.com. “The businesses that break through are the ones willing to fundamentally change how they operate, not just optimize what they’ve already built.”
The full report can be viewed HERE.
