The myth of horizontal growth - Lessons from the PayFit journey
What PayFit taught me about growth and saying no even when it’s hard.
Hi all 👋
Welcome to Finscale’s newsletter !!
Writing to you from a beach south of Lisbon… before heading out for a short surf session :)
As many of you know, I’ve always been fascinated by entrepreneurial journeys. Not the ones glorified by the media, but those that endure - that stay true to their intent no matter what. Firmin Zocchetto is one of those founders I’ve been observing for years with deep admiration. PayFit has always struck me as a fascinating case study : a start-up that managed, from the outset, to blend innovation, product intuition and what looked like a very deliberate growth strategy.
And yet, speaking with Firmin on the occasion of PayFit’s 10th anniversary, I felt the gap between my own position as a “baby entrepreneur” - with the raw energy many know me for - and the posture of a founder who has weathered storms and stood firm.
Rather than discouraging me, that contrast sharpened my understanding of what it really means to build a company that lasts : understanding your market, of course, but more importantly, understanding your own limits. And learning to shape your growth not against reality, but from it.
Growing sector by sector : A strategy still too rarely taught
In the B2B SaaS world, we often hear ambitions like “we target SMEs” or “we serve all sectors”. But behind these statements lies a form of naivety. SMEs are not a homogenous group. They are not interchangeable entities you can serve with a generic solution. They are deeply rooted in sector realities, social norms and ofc regulatory frameworks invisible to those who’ve never operated within them. A collective agreement is not just an administrative detail : it’s a key to understanding how an entire sector functions.
In this sense, horizontal growth is far from obvious. It’s not a natural product extension. It’s a decision that requires a complete repositioning of the product, yes, but also of sales messaging, customer support, onboarding and contractual terms. Above all, it requires an acceptance : that you can’t do everything at once. A company that integrates a collective agreement into its tool isn’t building a feature - it’s opening an entire operational layer, with all the responsibility and complexity that entails.
What I too rarely see in B2B product roadmaps is this sectoral consciousness - this ability to segment the market not just by company size or potential MRR but by social logic and business rhythms. And yet, that is where true scalability lies. Not in speed of acquisition, but in depth of integration. And sometimes, in the ability to say no to a market, simply because the conditions for success aren’t there.
My discussion with Firmin Zocchetto
PayFit didn’t always make the right choices but they always knew how to come back to the essentials. Very early on, they understood that addressing all companies without distinction was a dangerous mirage. They started where adoption was natural : in the start-up ecosystem, with small Tech’ companies, usually under the Syntec collective agreement, with minimal internal HR teams. These were the clients that helped them learn and stabilise the product.
Then came the urge to grow - to open up to other sectors like hospitality, construction and manufacturing. But again, they made a risky yet smart choice : never to promise what they couldn’t deliver. Each new collective agreement was integrated one by one, in a structured way. It took time. It was costly in terms of development and even more so in terms of adaptation. But it helped them avoid the trap of the “one size fits all” product being forced onto heterogeneous realities.
Firmin said it clearly : some sectors were explored, then abandoned. Metallurgy, for instance, was covered at one point, until the team realised the regulatory complexity, instability of legal texts and adaptation burden made the equation untenable. That wasn’t a failure. It was a strategic choice (one that protected Long Term alignment rather than chasing illusory growth without solid foundations).
I was also struck by the way he spoke about the CEO’s responsibility, not as the visionary hero, but as the one who preserves clarity over time and resists distraction. Who knows how to say no, even when Short Term numbers suggest otherwise.
As a conclusion
What this conversation taught me is that true scalability does not come from horizontal expansion at all costs. It lies in the ability to understand (deeply) the constraints of the sectors you serve and to build your product around those constraints, not in spite of them. Collective agreements may be seen as friction by those eager to move fast - but they become a compass for those who want to go far.
As a founder, I walk away from this exchange with an even stronger conviction : growing without understanding is a sure path to meaning dilution. It puts both customer experience and product integrity at risk. On the other hand, embracing step-by-step growth calibrated to your market, is choosing a slower, but fundamentally stronger trajectory. And that takes courage. Because in a world that glorifies instant expansion, refusing to move forward until you’re truly ready is a form of subversion.
Bon surf ;)