Baby2Baby chose a B2B-like model, supplying partner organizations rather than individual families. This avoided the complex logistics of direct service, enabling them to reach vastly more people and scale their operations efficiently by leveraging existing community infrastructure.

While saying "yes" to every opportunity fueled Baby2Baby's initial growth, true scale required learning to say "no." They strategically began refusing donations like used items or non-essential goods during crises, as these created logistical costs that outweighed their benefits, proving that disciplined focus is key to efficiency.

When founders claim a proven but labor-intensive channel 'doesn't scale,' they often misdiagnose a resourcing problem. The bottleneck isn't the channel's viability but their inability to solve the operational challenge of hiring, training, and managing a team to execute that channel at massive volume.

When the Target buyer asked if they had supply chain issues before offering a chain-wide launch, the founder instantly said 'nope'—despite producing in a 'chicken coop.' This bold move secured the deal, forcing them to rapidly scale.

Applying her Salesforce experience to Direct Relief, CEO Amy Weaver emphasizes that scaling a humanitarian organization requires the same discipline as a tech company. Investing in robust systems and streamlined processes is crucial. A "rickety platform" will prevent a non-profit from scaling its impact, no matter how noble its mission.

Baby2Baby's move to a national scale wasn't meticulously planned. It was sparked by an inbound offer of 126,000 baby bottles in Philadelphia. Instead of paying to ship them, they found a local partner to distribute them, creating an opportunistic and capital-efficient model for expansion.

When Miha Books' operations broke—from an overflowing garage to a warehouse too small for their orders—the co-founder celebrated. He views these breaking points not as failures, but as positive indicators of growth. Each 'break' is simply the next problem to solve on the path to scaling the company.

Baby2Baby transformed celebrity involvement from simple PR into a powerful negotiation tool. They offered celebrity endorsements to corporations like Huggies in exchange for multi-million dollar grants and massive product donations, creating a win-win-win flywheel for growth.

If your business can fulfill current demand but you're worried about future capacity, always choose to generate more demand first. The influx of cash and urgency creates the necessary pressure and resources to solve supply-side problems like hiring and training more efficiently.