The success of your e-commerce business increasingly depends on technology - but here's the crucial insight many miss: technology should never be a goal in itself. Instead, it serves as the infrastructure for your mission-critical operations and growth ambitions.
Let's break down how to make smart technology decisions as you scale.
Disclaimer: While these growth stages provide a useful framework, they're just a rule of thumb based on patterns we've observed. Every business is unique, and your optimal technology decisions will depend on various factors beyond revenue size alone. The key is understanding your specific business context before making any technology decisions.
Table of contents
- 01 Understanding Growth Phases
- 02 Key principle: simplify before you scale
- Making Technology Decisions by Growth Phase
- 03 The Three Types of Technology Value
- Strategic Value (Build, never buy)
- Core Value (Buy, but extend)
- Utility Value (Buy, minimal extending)
- Conclusion:
01 Understanding Growth Phases
Based on research and our experience helping consumer brands scale beyond €200M, companies typically move through distinct growth phases:
Growth Phase | Phase 1 | Phase 2 | Phase 3 | Phase 4 | Phase 5 |
Annual revenue | €0 - €1M | €1M - €10M | €10M - €100M | €100M - €1B | €1B+ |
Company Distribution | 96% of companies | 4% of companies | 0.4% of companies | Elite group
(~18,000 in Europe) | Global leaders |
Technology Stack | Typically 3-5 disconnected systems | First real tech stack
(~10 systems) | Integrated stack
(~15 systems) | API-first, microservices | Fully modular, AI-driven |
Tech Spend (% of Revenue) | ~10% | ~7% | ~4% | ~3% | ~2% |
Strategic Focus | Speed to market, basic operations | Building foundational processes | Scalability and automation | Strategic value creation | Innovation and differentiation |
02 Key principle: simplify before you scale
Here's our golden rule at Conway & Co: first buy and extend, before you custom build.
Many companies make the mistake of saying they are unique in every aspect of their operation. Ask yourself: do you really need a unique fulfillment process? Or inventory replenishment process? Usually, the answer is no.
Don’t reinvent the wheel, but adopt a best practice. Be unique where it matters, in your brand, product, and content - not your backend operations.
Making Technology Decisions by Growth Phase
Let's look at specific recommendations for each phase.
Company growth phase | Key technology guidelines |
Phase 1: Early Stage | • Start with proven, off-the-shelf solutions
• Focus on commerce platform, basic analytics, and essential marketing tools
• Bend your processes to fit standard systems
• Avoid custom development
• Prioritize speed to market over perfect functionality |
Phase 2: Consolidation | • Begin integrating systems for better data flow
• Add specialized tools for growing needs (OMS, CDP)
• Start measuring tech stack performance
• Consider headless commerce if complexity requires
• Focus on removing friction from processes |
Phase 3: Growth | • Implement proper data infrastructure
• Consider custom development for strategic areas
• Focus on scalability and automation
• Build team capabilities around tech stack
• Invest in business intelligence |
Phase 4+: Scale | • Move to API-first architecture where needed
• Build custom solutions for strategic advantage
• Focus on modularity and flexibility
• Invest in advanced analytics and AI
• Maintain balance between custom and off-the-shelf |
03 The Three Types of Technology Value
Each software system can be categorized as:
Strategic Value (Build, never buy)
- Core to your competitive advantage
- Directly impacts customer experience
- Example: Uber's ride-matching algorithm
Core Value (Buy, but extend)
- Important but not differentiating
- Customize to fit your needs
- Example: Payment processing systems
Utility Value (Buy, minimal extending)
- Necessary but not strategic
- Standardized functionality
- Example: HR systems, email
Example of Uber selling taxi rides.
Conclusion:
Remember Conway's Law: your organization's structure will be reflected in your technology architecture. This means technology decisions aren't just technical choices - they're strategic business decisions that should be made in the boardroom, not the basement.
The goal isn't to have the most advanced tech stack, but rather the most appropriate one for your current stage, type of business and future ambitions. Focus on simplification where possible, and only add complexity where it truly serves your business strategy.
→ Learn more
How to design a tech stack? And why does it matter?
How to select the best software for your company?
How we can help
Conway & Co is an on-demand CTO for modern consumer & retail brands with ambition. Gain a deep understanding of the technical state of your company that aligns your business strategy and digital capabilities.