We’re Trying to Outgrow the Valley of Death

Almost every growing business experiences a moment when success starts creating as many problems as it solves. Sales are up. The team is bigger. The product line is broader. And suddenly, the systems that got you here start to break. That’s where Liz Picarazzi finds herself right now. “We’re in the valley of death,” she says. “And we really need help.” Liz’s company, Citibin, made the most recent Inc. 5000 list, but Citibin has also hit that dangerous in-between stage—too big to run on improvisation, too small to have put in place all of the processes it needs.

So Liz is trying to grow her way out of the valley. She’s hired a marketing agency. A growth consultant. And two AI advisors. She’s testing new domestic fabricators. And she’s rebuilding her website from the ground up—because right now, it’s generating no more than 10 percent of sales, and she knows it can do better. The site hasn’t kept up with her expanding product line, and it isn’t even optimized for search engine discovery, let alone for generative AI discovery.

Talking it through with Paul Downs and Jaci Russo, Liz confronts some uncomfortable questions: How much copy is “enough” for AI? How transparent should pricing be—especially for a premium product whose prices could scare away some customers? And who has a better feel for the company’s story—the owner who’s lived it or the agency that has more experience helping businesses connect with customers? Not surprisingly, Liz and Jaci have different instincts on that one. What follows is a candid look at what it takes to rebuild a growing business at the dawn of a new era.