Growth is not magic. Growth is sequence. ~via Rabih JOMAA
Brilliant breakdown from my friend and brilliant colleague Rabih… and so needed. I’ve seen this over and over again… everyone wants the growth, but few want to build the sequence, or create the change that actually earns it.
Vision may open the door, but discipline, clarity, and a real understanding of who you serve is what keeps you in the room. When the fundamentals are missing, scale doesn’t create success… it magnifies the cracks.
What you’re calling out here is exactly why I always say… Tell your story in a way people will care, and then build the business to deliver on that promise.
Because when you get the order right… the customer, the story, the economics, the retention, the experience… growth isn’t a gamble, it’s a natural progression.
Love this framing. It’s not just insightful… it’s a roadmap too many founders wish they had followed sooner. /Ted
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been in conversations with a starting luxury brand looking to scale. It reminded me of something I’ve seen repeatedly across industries:
1- Ambition is powerful, but sequence is everything.
Anyone can dream big. Anyone can envision global stores, explosive revenue, or billion-dollar valuations. Vision is the spark, but without the right order of operations, even the brightest spark can burn out quickly.
2- Vision matters, but the foundation determines whether it survives contact with reality.
A brand can have the right product, the right aesthetic, even the right location; but if the fundamentals aren’t there (clear customer, compelling story, profitable unit economics, infrastructure), scale becomes a multiplier of problems, not success.
3- In growth and transformation, the real differentiator isn’t how big the dream is, it’s how disciplined the roadmap is. Discipline is the unglamorous part: clarifying who you serve, validating demand, building repeatable retention, refining your channels, and proving traction before expansion.
It’s the part most people skip… and the part that makes all the difference.
Here’s the truth I keep coming back to:
📈 Growth is not magic. Growth is sequence.
✅ Get the order right, and scale becomes inevitable.
‼️ Get the order wrong, and even the most beautiful vision collapses under its own weight.
I command founders who are willing to pause, reflect, and ask the harder question:
“What do we need to build before we try to grow?”
➡️ That’s where transformation actually begins.
