# How to Scale Without Losing Control

> Three hard-won lessons from CEOs on scaling companies without losing control.
- Title: How to Scale Without Losing Control · Inc | Shortify
- Summary: Three hard-won lessons from CEOs on scaling companies without losing control. Nextdoor and Alloy Health founders share how to scale businesses without losing…
- Keywords: nextdoor, alloy health, inc 5000, scaling, investor partnerships, crisis management, revenue growth, Scale, Without, Losing, Control, Inc
- Source: Inc — https://inc.com/sarah-lynch/to-scale-your-company-without-losing-control-follow-these-3-hard-won-lessons/91421098
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: nextdoor, alloy health, inc 5000, scaling, investor partnerships, crisis management, revenue growth
## Early Growth Challenges
Nextdoor and Alloy Health founders faced critical early challenges during rapid scaling.
## Nextdoor's ABC 20/20 Moment
Nextdoor shut down seconds after being featured in ABC's 20/20, taking 10 hours to restore.
## Alloy Health Data Vendor Failure
Alloy Health lost a vendor for customer data, forcing engineers to build a new backend platform in weeks.
## Nextdoor's Current Status
Nextdoor is publicly traded with 15 percent year-over-year revenue growth in Q2 earnings.
## Alloy Health's 2026 Inc 5000 Ranking
Alloy Health ranked No. 61 on the 2026 Inc. 5000 list with 4,503 percent three-year revenue growth.
## Investor Partnership Strategy
Founders should consider investor chemistry and references, starting with references early in the process.
## Nirav Tolia's Investor View
Tolia calls one early investor almost a co-founder, noting they were present on day zero and shared highs and lows.
## Key Lessons for Scaling
Early crises and selective investor partnerships help companies scale without losing control.
## Key takeaway

Nextdoor and Alloy Health founders share how to scale businesses without losing control through selective investor partnerships and early crisis management.