Two lessons: 1. Get a coach who acts like a coach in a sport, asks tough questions that you may wish to avoid, and talks you through those lonely moments when you have a problem that can't be shared with stakeholders. As a coach myself, I keep practicing and adding deep questions to my tools more than tricks and secrets to show off. 2. Watch your labor costs weekly. Unless you make nuclear reactors, that one line on the income statement has the most controllable impact.

I think of a startup as a company with less than $1 million revenue. The next $4 million is a wasteland as you encounter more costs in accounting, hr, marketing, sales, legal, etc. than you can afford. There is no way to avoid this period - much of my work is helping people to get to an oasis at $5 million revenue where you can afford all those jobs that had to be added. After $5 million, I'd echo the earlier question - "Have you gone through some strategic process to make sure that this form of business is what will help you to grow into the midmarket ($5-$500 mm revenue). I use the 4 Decisions Tools which help business leaders with Cash and Strategy.