The Hidden Cost of Growth: Why Scaling Companies Lose Their Edge

Jan de Vries · 2026-09-23

### What Expeditions Teach Us About Business Uncertainty Erik Vermeulen knows a thing or two about uncertainty. As a behavioral strategist and Managing Director of Ridgeline Consulting, he's spent over 20 years advising organizations on culture, leadership, and performance. But he's also led expeditions through some of the world's most demanding environments—deserts, mountains, places where the outcome is never guaranteed. That combination gives him a unique perspective on why companies succeed or fail as they grow. In an exclusive interview with Tabish Ali of the Motivational Speakers Agency, Vermeulen shared insights that every founder and team leader should hear. Especially if you're in the middle of scaling a startup. "Adventure actually refers to any undertaking where the outcome is uncertain," Vermeulen explains. "That is life. That is business." We tend to mask that uncertainty with rituals, routines, and structures. But deep down, we know we can't control everything. The question is: how do you lead when you can't predict what's coming next? ### The Two Things That Separate Great Teams from Good Ones Vermeulen has studied high-performing teams for decades. He says there are two key differentiators: - **Culture** – the unwritten rules of how people operate. What's accepted? What's not? Great teams are crystal clear about this. - **A clear beginning and end** – great teams know when they start and when they finish. They reset after each goal. "Often in corporate teams, we're a group of people who work together year in and year out, chasing the next target," he says. "Really great teams have the ability to set a goal, achieve it, and then reset." That's a powerful lesson for startups. As you grow, you can't just keep adding people and hoping the culture stays intact. You need to be intentional about how teams form, perform, and disband. ### Why Growth Dilutes Culture (And What to Do About It) Here's where it gets uncomfortable. Vermeulen argues that growth itself is the problem. "Every organization has some form of growth metric that defines it," he says. "Growth is where your problem starts in terms of culture." He uses a simple metaphor: think of a glass of cordial. The glass is your structure—the systems and processes that let you do business. The cordial is your culture—the unique flavor that made you special. As you grow, you add more water (more people, more processes, more bureaucracy). The flavor gets diluted. Eventually, it tastes nothing like the original. > "Growth is where your problem starts in terms of culture." – Erik Vermeulen So what should leaders watch for? - **Unwritten rules changing** – when new hires don't understand "how we do things here" - **Decision-making slowing down** – too many layers, too much consensus-building - **Loss of team identity** – people feel like cogs in a machine, not part of a mission Vermeulen's advice? Be deliberate about preserving what made you successful. Document your culture. Talk about it constantly. And don't assume it will survive on its own. ### The Takeaway for European Startups As Europe debates the EU Inc proposal—a plan to make it easier for startups to incorporate across borders—Vermeulen's insights are timely. Scaling across multiple countries means dealing with different cultures, regulations, and market dynamics. The risk of dilution is even higher. But the fundamentals remain the same. Great teams have clear cultures. They know when to start and when to stop. And they understand that growth, without intentional culture management, can quietly erode the very thing that made them special. For founders and leaders, the message is simple: pay attention to the intangibles. Your culture is your competitive advantage. Don't let it slip away.