Why filling gaps with people doesn't fix your growth problem

We believe startups need a growth system before they need more people. That's why we start with strategy, validate what works, and only then scale execution with the right roles and resources.

You see competitors running ads, so you hire a performance marketer. You notice other companies posting content, so you bring in a social media manager. You need a website, so you hire a designer. Six months later, everyone's busy, but revenue isn't growing the way you expected.

The gap-filling trap

Most startups approach growth by identifying gaps and filling them with people. You don't have ads running, so you hire someone to run ads. You're not creating content, so you hire someone to create content. You need design work, so you hire a designer.

It feels logical. You see a gap, you fill it, you make progress.

But here's what actually happens: you end up with a team of people executing in different directions, none of them sure if they're working on the right things. Your ads person is optimizing campaigns, but they don't know if the messaging resonates. Your content person is posting consistently, but they're not sure if it's reaching the right audience. Your designer is making things look good, but the brand positioning isn't clear.

Everyone's working hard, but nothing is compounding because there's no system tying it together.

Why this approach burns money

When you hire to fill gaps, you're paying people to figure it out as they go. You're hoping they'll test the right things, learn quickly, and find what works. But most execution-focused hires aren't strategists. They're good at doing the work, not defining what the work should be.

So they do what they know how to do. The ads person runs ads. The content person creates content. The designer designs. But without validated positioning, proven channels, and clear success metrics, it's all expensive guessing.

Let's say you hire three people at $100K each. That's $300K per year, plus equity, benefits, and management overhead. If they spend six months testing things that don't work because there was no strategy guiding them, you've burned $150K learning what you could have validated with research and small tests first.

And if it's not working, you're stuck. Do you fire them and start over? Do you keep them and hope it improves? Either way, you've lost time and money.

The fragmentation problem

Filling gaps with people also creates fragmentation. Each person is focused on their domain, but no one is connecting the dots across the business.

Your brand messaging doesn't match your ad copy. Your website doesn't reflect what your sales team is saying in demos. Your content isn't supporting the campaigns you're running. Your product team is building features that marketing doesn't know how to position.

Everyone's executing, but it's not cohesive. And when results don't come, people start pointing fingers. The ads person blames the website. The content person says the messaging is unclear. The designer says the product positioning is wrong. You're stuck mediating conflicts instead of scaling growth.

What actually fixes growth problems

Growth problems aren't solved by adding more people. They're solved by building a system.

A growth system starts with clarity. Who are you selling to? What problem do you solve that they care about? How do you talk about it in a way that resonates? Which channels will reach them when they're ready to buy? What does success look like, and how do you measure it?

Once you have answers, you know exactly what to build, who to hire, and where to focus. You're not guessing. You're executing against a validated plan.

This doesn't mean you move slower. It means you move with intention. Instead of hiring five people to cover every possible channel, you hire one or two to execute on the channels that matter. Instead of testing everything and hoping something works, you test strategically and scale what's proven.

The role of fractional leadership

This is where fractional leadership makes sense. Instead of filling gaps with specialists who execute in isolation, you bring in one strategic leader who owns the system.

They research your market, validate your positioning, and build a roadmap. They test messaging and channels before you scale. They coordinate execution across marketing, product, and sales so nothing is fragmented. And when you need specialists to execute, they bring them in at the right time with clear direction.

You're not paying someone to figure it out. You're paying someone who's done this before, has the frameworks to move fast, and can deliver results without the ramp-up time of a new hire.

When hiring makes sense (and when it doesn't)

Hiring makes sense when you have a validated system and you need more capacity to execute it. If your ads are profitable and you need someone to scale them, hire a performance marketer. If your content is driving pipeline and you need more volume, hire a content person.

But if you're still figuring out what works, hiring specialists is premature. You need strategy first, then execution.

Think of it this way: hiring people to fill gaps is like adding more engines to a plane that doesn't have a flight plan. You're burning fuel, making noise, but you're not getting closer to your destination.

How to fix this if you're already in it

If you've already filled gaps with people and things aren't working, you can course correct.

Start by bringing in someone who can own the strategy. A fractional leader, a strategic consultant, or an experienced operator who can step back, assess what's working, and build a unified plan.

Their job is to answer the hard questions: Are we targeting the right customers? Is our messaging resonating? Are we on the right channels? What should we stop doing, and what should we double down on?

Once you have clarity, you'll know if the people you hired are in the right roles, if you need different skill sets, or if you're missing critical pieces. And your team will stop executing in isolation and start building toward the same outcome.

The bottom line

Filling gaps with people feels like progress, but it doesn't fix growth problems. It creates fragmentation, burns budget, and leaves you with a team that's busy but not productive.

Growth problems are solved by building systems. Validate your strategy, test what works, then scale execution with the right people in the right roles. That's how you turn activity into outcomes and stop wasting money on expensive guessing.