Ricardo Semler on Growth: Ask What It Is For.
Ricardo Semler on growth is blunt: much of it is about ego and greed, not strategy. Yet Semco kept growing, from four million dollars in 1982 to two hundred and twelve million by 2003. What he stopped was growth by acquisition.
The man who stopped buying.
Semler took over Semco in Brazil in 1980. On day one he fired sixty per cent of his father's senior managers. Then he studied more than a hundred companies, negotiated with fifteen and bought four. After that he stopped deliberately, because wanting to grow just to be big comes from the sandbox.
Reading Ricardo Semler on growth carefully.
His famous line says only businesses and tumours grow for the sake of growth. However, Semco reached thirty-five million by 1994, and later three thousand people across three countries. So his objection targets expansion as an end in itself. Instead, he accepted growth as a consequence of being useful to people. Quoting Ricardo Semler on growth without that nuance misses his point.
When staying small wins.
Choosing to stay a small business has support. A 2025 study followed thirteen very small firms that chose not to grow. Cutting headcount and taking selective work brought better margins, efficiency and lives. Also, fear of losing control and staff wellbeing often explain why founders decline growth. So is business growth necessary for you, or only for your ego?
Test Ricardo Semler on growth against your plans.
Write one sentence answering what your growth is actually for.
If the answer is simply being bigger, put the pen down and rethink.
From the book.
If your honest answer is that you want the business bigger so that you're somebody who runs a bigger business, put the pen down now. The loop will work. It'll just take you somewhere you never wanted to go, and it'll take you there faster.
I Want to Start a Business but I Don't Have Money, chapter 10: The growth loop
Questions about Ricardo Semler on growth.
What did Ricardo Semler on growth actually reject?
He rejected expansion as an end in itself and stopped growing by acquisition, while Semco kept growing.
Does research support staying small?
A 2025 study of thirteen very small firms found better margins, efficiency and lives after deliberately not growing.
What happens if I grow for ego?
The loop will still work. However, it will take you somewhere you never wanted to go, and faster.
Read the whole chapter.
This lesson covers one section of chapter 10, “The growth loop”. The book goes further, with the full evidence, the stories and every exercise.
Lessons in this chapter.
- 01 Sales Funnel vs Growth Loop: Pick the Shape That Grows.
- 02 Sustainable Growth Rate Formula: Find Your Ceiling.
- 03 Reinvest Profits in Small Business: The Bedroom Rule.
- 04 Types of Growth Loops: The Thirty Day Test.
- 05 Ricardo Semler on Growth: Ask What It Is For.
- 06 Why Growth Channels Stop Working: Spot It Early.
- 07 Bootstrapping vs Venture Capital: Weigh Both Sides.