Everyone loves a good growth story.
Founders pitch with confidence. Investors nod along. Scaling? Of course we’re ready.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth:
Only 4 out of 10 startups are actually scale-ready.
That’s exactly what we saw happening ahead of our recent GTM Masterclass with Wayne Morris. Twenty startups — from various industries and stages — completed a structured pre-assessment. We looked across five key growth dimensions:
- Strategic Clarity (Are you building the right thing?)
- Execution Capacity (Can you deliver reliably?)
- Sales & GTM Maturity (Can someone else sell this, or just the founder?)
- Leadership Depth (Can you scale decision-making?)
- Experimentation Muscle (Do you learn faster than you build?)
Each startup scored themselves, by answering detailed questions, on a scale across 16 milestones. Then we aggregated the data to look for patterns. And the results were… revealing.
Most startups rated themselves relatively high in experimentation and cultural mindset — with average scores around 60%–63%. They clearly believe in psychological safety, value iteration, and aren’t afraid to pivot when needed. Startups feel pretty confident in the early game.
Idea-Market Fit (things like defining the problem, sizing the market, building an MVP) scored 63% on average.
This is where founders know their story. They’ve shaped a clear narrative and know their “why”.
Product-Market Fit dipped to 57%, suggesting that while there’s some validation, usage and value delivery are still bumpy.
They’re learning — but not yet locked in.
Then comes the drop.
Go-to-Market Fit averaged 43%.
Repeatability, non-founder sales, building a GTM team — this is where belief outpaces structure.
Most are still in “founder-selling” mode, and haven’t scaled a predictable engine.
Scale Readiness? Even lower — 42%.
Things like hiring leaders, expanding the GTM org, or launching new business lines are still aspirational for most.
The pattern?
Startups are amazing at building the why and the what. But often unclear on the how.
And that disconnect matters. We saw specific drop-offs in:
- Execution confidence — can we reliably deliver? (53%)
- Goal clarity — does everyone know what we’re aiming for? (57%)
- Leadership depth — can we delegate and scale decisions? (52%)
This gap matters.
Without clarity, rhythm, and shared accountability, even the most brilliant ideas can collapse under their own momentum.
Without solid leadership behaviors, clear operating rhythms, and scalable decision-making, even the best idea risks imploding under its own momentum. It’s not a lack of ambition — it’s a lack of internal infrastructure.
And in our ecosystem, that imbalance is quietly normalized.
We reward storytelling over structure. Growth hacks over governance. Founders are expected to move fast — often before they’ve built the muscles to move well.
So what do we do?
- Founders: Don’t just scale your product. Scale your internal clarity. Ask yourself if your team operates even when you’re not in the room.
- Investors: Look past the surface metrics. Ask what repeatable capabilities exist beneath the traction.
- Ecosystem builders: Let’s support not just flashy accelerations — but foundational resilience.
Because startup growth isn’t just a story you tell the world. It’s a capability you build from within.