I think of a startup as a company with less than $1 million revenue. The next $4 million is a wasteland as you encounter more costs in accounting, hr, marketing, sales, legal, etc. than you can afford. There is no way to avoid this period - much of my work is helping people to get to an oasis at $5 million revenue where you can afford all those jobs that had to be added.

After $5 million, I'd echo the earlier question - "Have you gone through some strategic process to make sure that this form of business is what will help you to grow into the midmarket ($5-$500 mm revenue). I use the 4 Decisions Tools which help business leaders with Cash and Strategy.