MVP to Product: When to Start Scaling

Scaling before product-market fit is the fastest way to burn money. Here's how to know when you're ready.

Signs You're Ready to Scale

• •40%+ of users say they'd be very disappointed without you
• •Customers are coming through word of mouth
• •You're turning away customers due to capacity
• •Retention is stable month over month
• •You've found one acquisition channel that works

Signs You're NOT Ready

• •Growth only comes from paid ads
• •Churn is higher than 10% monthly
• •You're still changing the core product weekly
• •No customer has renewed or referred
• •You can't explain why people buy

What to Scale First

• •The acquisition channel that's already working
• •Customer success (keep what you have)
• •Infrastructure (handle more users)
• •Team (only once process is clear)

What NOT to Scale

• •Channels that haven't been tested
• •Features users aren't asking for
• •Team size before you have product-market fit
• •Spending before revenue

The 10-100-1000 Rule

• •10 customers: still finding product-market fit
• •100 customers: ready to optimize and grow
• •1000 customers: ready to scale systems