What does scaling SaaS mean? Part 4

Let’s recap the previous three parts, shall we? 

• In Part 1, I mentioned resilience, significance of values, getting it done, specialists vs generalists, next 5 moves, and the power of data. 

• Part 2 was about nailing the distribution, solving hard problems together, being the business owner, letting some fires burn, self-responsibility, and ROP. 

• Part 3, I explained growth mindset, unique business model, the power of negotiation, scarcity, goals vs systems, and how to frame the journey. 

In part 4, I will give six tips (last one is the most important) on how to connect all the dots. 

Tip 1 - Expect amplification. 

In her decades of research Jill Bolte Taylor proved that no emotion lasts longer than 90 seconds unless we feed it. By emotions she meant - joy, hope, satisfaction, surprise, confusion, fear, anger, insecurity, and more. As the SaaS ecosystem scales, get ready for amplification in all of the above emotions and more - no exceptions. In this journey of evolutionary pain and amplification; find peace. Because during scale, in addition to muscle, Success, Health and Happiness will also amplify. 

Post amplification I prefer to be content, not complacent … 🙈🙉🙊 

Tip 2 - Watch out for biases. 

After emotions, let's get to know its cousin. When someone calls from my hometown, I call multiple people to help them. In most of the cases, I am not able to help them but my actions are driven by my emotional attachment towards them being from my hometown. In scale context, watch for these - 

• This worked in one area; it will work everywhere. 

• Other companies are doing this successfully; if we do not, we will not survive. 

• I have done my research, spoken with multiple people; this has to work. 

• If we miss this bus; we will never get it again. 

To counter this, let me explain what I do which works for me. First, I filter and analyse the available information. Second, I try to understand the environments where things have gone right and those environments where they were not right. Third, figure out what drove the decision in that context. And lastly, how did we envision the impact to be and what it actually was. Repeat. 

Easy, right? Tell me about it … 🕺

Tip 3 - Invert it.

Why should something not die? How can we hamper chances of survival? When should we discourage scale? A business may remain as is in terms of users, revenue, customers, valuation, usage and so on for the next 5 years. I mentioned before that it is ok not to scale; but ok in very very limited cases. Apply inverting. 

Let me reiterate the cycling example I mentioned in Part 1. If I drive a bicycle too fast there is a high chance of an accident. So the best way for me is to study all ways which can cause an accident, damage to the bike, harm to other persons, insurance hassles and not do it. Focus on the rest and drive safely. 

Inverting helps in knowing failure patterns and thinking limitations for good … 🌅 

Tip 4 - Adventure into it. 

A good invert always led me into an adventure. “The one who controls emotions and biases, wins the adventure”. I am saying this. SaaS scale is an adventure. First and early movers feel that the map is drawn and it is easier to adventure using that map. However, keep in mind that map is a minuscule representation which helps in navigating during the adventure. In World War 2, some troops mistakenly took the map as the territory, overlooked the weather conditions, and more. They did not win the battle. 

One of the best practices is to enter in at a slightly higher pace than being comfortable with the map, without breaking the bank. Because exit from a not so good adventure may cause financial loss, emotional scars and so on. You get the point. 

The four parts I posted on scale are clear, navigable and informative maps … 🧘 

Tip 5 - Follow theory. 

Trust me, unless you are a high school drop out, we all started with theory. All bachelor degrees mean 18-20 books for reading over 3 to 4 years. 60% reading of each book is expected with a passing grade of around 50%. Post passing out, work happens which is on top of that theory. However, let's not mistake work (experience in years) to be the bulletproof jacket because bulletproof jackets work only until the one who wears it is hit by a landmine. Scaling is exactly the same. 

Let me give a couple of examples. In Cricket, it is good to have 5 bowling options with 3 fast + 1 spin + 1 all-rounder. In college football (American) and Soccer there are text book plays which can be executed to win games. This means, success is nothing but a balanced combination of theory, execution and a conducive environment. Follow theory, tweak the execution, reflect and find an opportunity to scale SaaS. 

You got it. Theory + meticulous execution + reflection = moneyball … 🏆

Tip 6 - This tip is most important. 

History witnessed failure of 20 plus airline companies only in India. I do not have a count of failures in insurance, dot com and e-commerce. That number is definitely more than

20. Even the big, bigger ones like Titanic could not float and survive. So the most important lesson is that, big (or a lot of small) mistakes over time from which recovery is not possible can be very costly. 

Nothing is unsinkable; it's always wise to be focused, consistent and prepared … ☔ 

With these tips, I am going to wrap four parts. I am sure these are helpful to anyone who wishes to grow and scale. Happy growing and scaling. 

After this, should I write about the stock market? Stock market or public market? I would call it the public market - it makes me feel safe as a retail investor. Globally, it is one of the biggest inspirations for scale. Speaking of inspiration, part of it the Indian mutual fund industry has grown 7x in the last 10 years. No wonder, one of India's richest guys has now entered into the MF market (late entrants, sharks?) … 🦈 

In 2025, at a business gathering I mentioned that I would love to see a company scale from 200 to 1000 in the next 5 years. That is 5x in the next 5 years; hundred percent possible; guaranteed.

Picture - magnificent mountains after magnificent mountains to scale in the future … 

PS - Thank you brothers for the bike replica; I will always cherish it. What else does a boy dream of in life … 🚴

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Swagat Irsale is a Growth and Scale Advocate. He works with start ups and scale ups and helps them grow revenue and build enterprise products which users use.

You can connect with him on Linked in.

https://www.groadv.com/post/grow-revenue-the-journey-zero-to-one-billion-swagat-irsale

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