The Artificial, Week 154: Considering Growth

In Boris van Hoytema’s self-written job description he wishes to help his company grow “not faster than it can, not slower than it should.” This is the crux of our current outlook.

We have been deliberately passing up opportunities to grow more quickly. Chasing after revenue would have us hiring people that aren’t right for the safe and challenging environment we’re trying to build or take on projects that won’t help us foster ability before scale. Adding overhead in project management or business development prematurely might reduce the value ratio our reliable clients have come to expect from us.

But eventually stagnation will become a risk. We’ll need to balance cultural stability with the diversity of new perspectives. Bedrock client relationships could lead to a monotony of subject manner. And at 5 people, the attrition or either designers or clients is too disruptive to naturally embrace as a solution.

Besides, we like the people we work with, and built this wonderful office to seat 11.

So in 2016 we perhaps ought to grow some more. This will require some scaffolding: we’ll need help from account management to office administration, and may need to hire above the experience levels we have so far. Given how selective we are, this means much more time spent networking to find the right people.