Growing Fast, Running Dry – Why Scaling Businesses Get into Cash Trouble
Your revenue is growing. New clients are coming in. You’re hiring, upgrading systems, and investing in marketing.
Everything looks like it’s working — except your bank account says otherwise.
If you’ve ever thought:
“We’re growing, so why does it feel like we’re constantly low on cash?”
...you’re not alone.
Many founders experience cash stress right at the moment things start to take off. And it’s not bad luck — it’s the result of a predictable but overlooked reality:
Growth eats cash.
In this article, you'll learn:
why scaling businesses often run into cash problems;
the difference between revenue, profit, and cash (they’re not the same);
and what you can do to grow without running dry.
The problem: your business is growing, but your cash isn’t
You’re working hard. Revenue is up. Everyone assumes you’re doing great.
Behind the scenes?
You’re chasing invoices.
Payroll is tight.
You’re dipping into reserves or your personal savings.
And your accountant keeps warning you about upcoming tax bills.
It doesn’t add up — and it’s stressful.
The hidden reason: growth consumes cash before it generates it
Here’s the truth no one tells you when you start scaling:
Every new hire, customer, or product line adds pressure to your cashflow before it adds to your profits.
You need to:
Pay salaries before new revenue comes in
Fund production, tools, or stock
Spend more on marketing or infrastructure
Wait weeks or months to get paid
So while your revenue chart is pointing up, your cashflow might be heading in the opposite direction.
Profit ≠ Cash ≠ Growth
Let’s clear something up:
Revenue shows how much money you’re bringing in
Profit is what’s left after costs
Cashflow is what’s actually available in your bank account to use
You can be profitable on paper and still run out of money.
You can hit record sales while still struggling to pay bills.
And if you ignore cash while scaling, it can kill your momentum — or worse.
Example: growth without cash planning
I worked with a founder whose SaaS business grew from €1.5M to €2.8M revenue in 18 months.
Sounds great, right?
But their payroll had doubled. Their sales cycle had lengthened. And client payments were coming in 45 days late. At one point, they had less than €50,000 in the bank — with €300,000 in monthly overhead.
Growth almost broke them.
With proper cashflow modeling, funding options, and better AR discipline, we turned it around. But they came dangerously close to burning out (and burning through everything).
What smart founders do differently
If you're scaling, you need to manage growth like a CFO would — even if you don’t have one yet.
That means:
Creating a 12-month cashflow forecast
Modeling multiple growth scenarios (conservative, expected, aggressive)
Understanding your working capital cycle
Exploring financing options before you need them
Building a cash buffer, not just a revenue pipeline
Scaling a business without a financial strategy is like trying to build a house without a foundation. It’ll work — for a while. Then the cracks start to show.
Want to scale without sleepless nights?
I help growth-stage entrepreneurs align their financial strategy with their scaling ambitions — so growth doesn’t become a cash trap.
No jargon. No spreadsheets for the sake of it. Just clarity, structure, and actionable insights.
👉 Book a free scaling finance consultation at https://www.peakscaleconsulting.com/contact
3 questions to ask yourself today
If revenue stalls for 3 months, do I survive — or panic?
What would I need to fund 50% growth next year?
Is my cashflow forecast based on hope, or numbers?