Skimp-Wrecked: How Cutting the Wrong Corners Can Sink A Company
January is the time for prophecies and predictions…and I’ve got one for 2026.
I think it holds true for founders and investors alike: Don't confuse being broke with being a capital efficient company.
While making the most of your resources is a no- brainer, I won’t congratulate you for penny pinching a path toward irrelevancy. Or as I like to call it, getting skimpwrecked.
This is a slow motion catastrophe where an otherwise capable company is pulled into the rocky shoreline because there wasn’t enough momentum to hit the open water. As an investor, I keep watch for this. It’s also something I experienced in past lives as an operator.
So, how do you avoid getting skimpwrecked in 2026?
Here are five areas where cutting corners can have outsized consequences, especially these days.
#1: Conveying Authenticity in the Age of AI
AI has made producing content a commodity while finessing those outputs into something authentic has grown harder. Dollars saved using AI can be quickly consumed by the cost of using them well.
The thirst for authenticity means no more hiding behind “company” messages or brand identity. No one wants to hear from a logo. Many leaders–now thrust into the role of camera-ready spokesperson–can’t pull these skills and techniques from thin air. Many of us will also experience the discomfort of having an authentic point of view, which, if done right, should spark dialogue, or even disagreement, that you must be prepared to address. Navigating this dynamic demands real expertise, and acquiring that expertise might not come on the cheap.
There isn’t a fix to the authenticity paradox as much as there’s urgency to allocate sufficient resources to get the work done well. This isn't the place to pinch pennies…avoiding inauthenticity ‘red flags’ is well worth the investment. Once raised these flags are hard to lower.
#2 Staying Close to Your Customer is Non-Negotiable
Keeping tight to the people who pay you is one of the highest-ROI things an early-stage company can do. Doing it well has real costs.
Staying close isn’t just about surveys, check-ins, or account health monitoring. The best companies I work with keep close in ways that require a shocking degree of sustained engagement.
Being in the same rooms and participating in the same conversations is critical to staying at the center of what your customer hears, sees, and thinks. Even with AI, all this environmental monitoring and “being present” takes time, and for most, time equals money.
AND…this is all before you even get to flights, hotels, event tickets, etc. Never leaving your office may save a few bucks, but if being out of sight means being out of mind, that's never a good thing.
# 3 Building an AI-Engine Can’t be an After Thought
If you invested resources to create an internal AI capacity in 2025, don't pull back. Now is not the time to rest on your laurels.
Building an internal AI capacity isn’t a one-time task. It’s about building an engine that helps your team progressively own the AI that matters to most to your company.
Remember, unless you are an AI-category disrupter, the goal is leverage, not mastery of the technology. More often than not, leverage requires sustained effort.
Trends, values and behaviors change VERY fast and the benefits you reaped from previous efforts may fade. Fall asleep at the AI wheel and you may wake up with tires spinning in a ditch.
#4 Experimentation Isn’t for Special Occasions
The half life of marketing, sales and even tech models is shrinking fast. If you wait until signs of decay become obvious, you’ve waited too long.
Experimentation can’t start when something else fails. It’s a discipline. A recurring strategy that deserves to be resourced on its own merit.
For starters, experiments produce data different from what you learn executing on the status quo. Even when things don’t work out, failure is data, not defeat.
Experimental data may reveal flaws and open new opportunities before you’re desperate for them. Adjacent data also keeps you from falling too “in love” with our current approach, keeping us mindful of what’s coming next versus what’s happening now.
When organizations become over-focused on the day-to-day, our experimental muscles atrophy. Somebody needs part to stay focused on experimentation to prevent that atrophy from becoming systemic weakness. (See Micaela’s post on this phenomena).
# 5 Team Health Needs a Budget
The downsides of poor team health compound fast, especially in small teams where every person carries outsized leverage.
Burnout destroys the one advantage small companies have: speed. I don't just mean moving faster or learning faster. When small teams are healthy they recover faster from mistakes and setbacks.
Within small organizations, unhealthy dynamics replicate faster and with less resistance. One bad apple can spoil the whole bunch…especially when that apple is a well-meaning founder who isn't aware of how their own unhealthy behaviors are ensconcing the whole team.
Investing into team health isn't about perks or resources, though all may have a place. Truly investing into team health means having the plan and resources to work at a sustainable pace and with fair workload distribution. It means giving everyone access to predictable recovery time and thinking carefully about the consequences of being in “hustle mode” all day every day.
This agility can be the difference between life and death for an early stage company.
Practically, this work has real costs. You may need to spend more to offer yourself, and your team, a healthy foundation for growth.
The Bottom Line for 2026
Cash constraints are not always within our control. But a skinny bank balance can’t drive all the decisions inside of a company. More than anything, don't live in denial. Even if you really can’t invest into something important right now, don't sweep that truth under the rug.
Keep unmet needs top of mind. Be transparent about the capacity gaps that are forming within your company…because you’ll never find what you're not looking for.
The motto for correctly resourcing a company isn’t less is more. It’s best is more.
Get that twisted and you may end up skimpwrecked in 2026.
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More About RevUp Capital
RevUp Capital invests in B2B and B2C companies that are revenue-driven and ready to double down on growth. We deploy cash and capacity to help companies grow from $1-3M to $10-30M, quickly and efficiently, using a revenue-based model. Companies enter our portfolio with $500K-$3M in revenue, a strong growth rate, and a team that’s ready to scale. Our typical investment range is $300K-$500K.
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We built RevUp to invest into B2B and B2C companies ascending the $1M-$10M growth curve. We know from experience—and from the stellar performance of our portfolio—that this curve can be conquered. But, having the right resources and support along the way is critical to success.
RevUp combines non-dilutive investment with hands-on support to help companies build stronger, more scalable infrastructure for growth. And, we do it using a non-dilutive model. Our goal? Give companies the best shot at success while preserving founder equity, optionality, and autonomy.
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More About the Author
RevUp Capital Managing Partner Melissa Withers is a bullish advocate for innovating the ways in which new companies are funded and supported. Beyond building new economic models for early stage investing, Melissa is also committed to directing more entrepreneurial funding to those underserved and overlooked by traditional VC.