From €5M to €40M: Why Scaling eCommerce Is Not About Growth, But Structure

Episode overview

What does it really take to grow an eCommerce business from €5M to €40M?

In this episode, Jack Ananchenko speaks with Roland Lukas, CFO and COO at Internet Up, about why scaling an eCommerce business is not just a growth story, but an operational and financial challenge. Roland shares how Internet Up moved through a major growth phase and why building the right structure across finance, operations, purchasing, logistics, and cash planning became essential for sustainable growth.

In this conversation, we discuss:

• scaling from €5M to €40M revenue in a complex multi-brand setup;
• why moving from dropshipping to direct purchasing changes everything;
• how finance and operations must work together to support growth;
• the real challenges behind inventory, cash flow, and supply chain complexity;
• why strong growth does not automatically mean easy access to capital;
• what it takes to turn fast growth into profitable and scalable growth.

One of the core insights from the conversation: Growth is easy. Profitable and scalable growth is not.

Instead of only increasing demand, the real challenge is building a system that can support it across purchasing, logistics, operations, and financial steering.

A must-watch episode for eCommerce founders, operators, and growth teams building or scaling an eCommerce business.