Teaching Case “Escaping the Scaling Trap”

26 Februar 2026

17 January 2024

A new teaching case, developed by Prof. Hüttermann together with colleagues from Switzerland and the Netherlands, has been published by The Case Centre. “Escaping the Scaling Trap: How TLGG Managed Growth from Startup to Scaleup” traces the challenges that emerged for the organizational and leadership structures of the Berlin-based consulting startup TLGG Consulting during its growth phase.

The case outlines the company’s growth journey and highlights the problems that arose as a result of rapid scaling, when organizational and leadership structures were no longer suited to a growing team. It further describes the steps taken to address these challenges and develops alternative solution approaches to enable continued growth. As part of the case analysis, three potential future scenarios for TLGG Consulting can be discussed in order to overcome the challenges and transform both the organization and its leadership model.

The case study is freely available (after free registration) or can be requested directly from the authors. Comprehensive teaching notes are also provided to support instructors in their preparation.