The Convelio Strategy: When Slower Growth Leads to Faster Scale in B2B

The startup playbook typically reads: raise money, grow fast, raise more money, grow faster. But in a recent episode of Category Visionaries, Convelio co-founder Edouard Gouin revealed why his company took the opposite approach after their Series B – and how that decision positioned them for more sustainable growth.

The Path to Series B

For five years, Convelio followed the traditional startup growth trajectory. “Over the first five years, we grew at an average of more than 100% year on year,” Edouard shares. The company had successfully transformed from handling modest antique shipments to managing multi-million dollar art pieces, establishing themselves as a trusted name in fine art logistics.

The Pivot Point

Then came March 2022. Convelio raised their Series B just as the market began to shift. Rather than pushing for aggressive expansion, they made an unusual choice. As Edouard explains, “We raised our series B in March last year, essentially before all the sheet went down and the whole kind of change in microeconomic environment and so on. So what we realized was like, okay, well, we need to be very careful about the way we spend that money.”

The Deliberate Slowdown

Instead of using their new capital to fuel rapid growth, Convelio chose a different path. “What we did was, okay, let’s grow not as fast. Let’s just really try to optimize the operations that we have. Let’s try to automate as much as possible, and then we’ll start to accelerate again,” Edouard recalls.

This wasn’t just defensive positioning – it was strategic optimization. Growth rates intentionally dropped from “100% plus” to “50% plus,” allowing the company to focus on strengthening their operational foundation.

Building Better Systems

The slower growth period allowed Convelio to perfect their processes for handling high-value shipments. Today, when managing pieces worth up to $30 million, Edouard notes, “Everything is really calculated beforehand. We know exactly what we’re doing, we know exactly who we’re working with.”

This systematic approach extends to their recent acquisition in the UK. Rather than rushing integration, they’re taking time to align systems properly. “Make sure there’s just one person in charge of kind of coordinating that whole thing,” Edouard advises, highlighting their methodical approach to expansion.

The Counter-Intuitive Fundraising Lesson

This experience has shaped Edouard’s broader view on startup fundraising. Looking back, he believes they could have waited longer before raising initial capital: “If you want to optimize for valuation, if you want to optimize for ownership… you can raise carbon debt and so on, and you can kind of use that and push the company as fast as possible.”

The insight? Less cash can force better decisions. “You typically would make less mistakes if you have less cash constraints,” Edouard explains. “It would force you to really deeply understand what your clients are expecting you on and kind of really delivering only these few things.”

The Results

The strategy appears to be working. Convelio is now positioned to “start to accelerate again,” with expectations of “50% plus, 60% plus also next year.” But more importantly, they’re accelerating with stronger operational foundations and clearer market understanding.

For B2B founders facing similar growth decisions, Convelio’s experience offers a powerful lesson: sometimes the fastest path to sustainable scale is to intentionally slow down, optimize operations, and build systems that can support future growth. In a market obsessed with hypergrowth, the courage to grow thoughtfully might be your strongest competitive advantage.