| Cost profile | Drivers | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Low cost / high leverage | Pricing Models; Business Processes & automation (AI-enabled); much of Product development (AI-assisted) | Designing a pricing model is a thinking exercise. AI now makes workflow automation, analytics, and even software development achievable at a fraction of the cost of two years ago. Highest ROI per dollar of runway. |
| Moderate | Partnerships; Market/segment expansion | Partnerships often avoid capital outlay by borrowing a partner’s relationships, but cost founder attention. New-market GTM takes spend but not always heavy capital. |
| Capital-intensive (and shrinking) | Hardware components in hybrid HW/SaaS; large-scale infrastructure; the raise itself | The truly capital-hungry items are narrowing. And in Canada, non-dilutive grants (SR&ED, IRAP) can offset a real share of even these. Canadian EBC/SBVC tax incentives can offset investor risk by 70%. |
The cheapest dimensions, pricing and (now) process automation, are also the ones most often left on the table, which leads straight to the next question.
Work with Authgnosis
Reading about the six drivers is one thing; diagnosing your own company against them is another.
I’ve turned this entire framework into a working intake tool: a Growth Diagnostic Checklist, a section-by-section guide covering all six drivers plus the talent layer and the honest “fulcrum” assessment. It’s the exact prerequisite information needed to map a company’s current state, growth strategy, and future state, and to name the one or two moves that will actually compound.
If you’d rather me do the work to collect that information and put it into a high-level assessment, let me know.
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Citations
Framework foundation: Anthony E. Boardman, Aidan R. Vining & Daniel Shapiro, “A Framework for Comprehensive Strategic Analysis” (2003).
Professional-service-firm lens: Andrew von Nordenflycht, “What Is a Professional Service Firm? Toward a Theory and Taxonomy of Knowledge-Intensive Firms,” Academy of Management Review 35(1), 2010.
Canadian funding figures: SR&ED enhanced expenditure limit per Budget 2025; NRC-IRAP 2025–26 contributions. Real-world examples drawn from public reporting.