By Farhan Naqvi | Former CFO at iLearningEngines

Published as part of our leadership series to highlight influential voices in enterprise growth and decision-making.

The Real Challenge: Choosing What Not to Do

In the world of high-growth startups, success often comes down to how well leaders make decisions under pressure. During my tenure as CFO at iLearningEngines, I learned this firsthand. The journey of Farhan Naqvi iLearningEngines was defined by rapid scale, evolving complexity, and the need for disciplined, strategic choices in moments that felt uncertain.

At $20M in revenue, you’re reacting. At $200M, you’re shaping your future. The shift is subtle but profound—and mastering it starts with knowing what not to do.

Three Strategic Trade-Offs Every Scaling Company Must Navigate

1. Speed vs. Alignment

Move too quickly and risk confusion. Move too slowly and lose your competitive edge. The companies that scale best learn how to balance velocity with clear communication.

2. Growth vs. Efficiency

When to expand and when to optimize? Both matter. Effective leaders recognize when to invest in growth—and when to double down on sustainability.

3. Centralization vs. Autonomy

Too much control stifles teams. Too little invites inconsistency. The right balance gives leaders visibility while empowering teams on the front lines.

How We Avoided the Consensus Trap at iLearningEngines

As iLearningEngines scaled, we avoided the dangerous trap of consensus culture. Alignment doesn’t require agreement from everyone—it requires clarity of ownership and process.

We built a culture where decision-makers were empowered to gather input, make the call, and move forward. People respected the system—even when they didn’t fully agree—because they knew it enabled progress, not paralysis.

Frameworks That Support High-Stakes Decisions

At key moments in our growth, we leaned on structured decision frameworks:

• Risk vs. Impact Matrix – Visualize which ideas have the biggest payoff with manageable downside.
• Pre-Mortems – Imagine the decision failed and work backward to surface risks early.
• Reversibility Tests – Gauge how easily you can reverse course if needed.

These tools helped reduce bias and bring confidence to decisions—even in uncertain conditions.

Focus Is a Growth Strategy

One of the most overlooked disciplines in high-growth companies is the discipline of saying no. At iLearningEngines, we used OKRs and quarterly investment maps to stay focused on our mission. We killed good ideas to protect great ones.

Focus isn’t about shrinking ambition. It’s about increasing impact by channeling your best people and resources into the few bets that truly matter.

Final Thoughts

You won’t always make the right call. But the difference between companies that stumble and those that scale often comes down to how they decide, who decides, and how quickly they adapt.

Great startups aren’t built by avoiding mistakes—they’re built by learning fast and choosing deliberately. That’s the lesson I take from my time at iLearningEngines and the mindset I continue to champion today.

About the Author

Sayyed Farhan Naqvi is a growth strategist and startup finance expert. As former CFO of iLearningEngines, he helped the company scale into a global category leader through thoughtful decision-making, capital efficiency, and a focus on sustainable growth. Today, he advises growth-stage companies on strategic planning and execution.