why a 70-90% business failure rate is not normal – it’s a design flaw - not destiny

You’ve probably seen the 90% business failure statistic floating around the internet before, but let’s recap the basics together: 10% of new businesses don’t make it past the first year. 75% of fintech startups crash within two decades. Overall, 90% of businesses are said to fail (though the exact statistics differ based on the source). And while there are many reasons for this, from poor product-market fit to ineffective marketing, premature scaling plays a large role, too.

Helena Frumson about business failure

This is where experienced leaders like Helena Frumson, a Board Advisor, Co-Founder at Infinita Club & Co-Founder and Group Commercial and ESG Officer at NeoClear, come in. Prioritizing structure over speed, Helena highlights just how vital it is to invest in stable company foundations and adjust to the changing business landscape as part of the scaling process.

“Scale doesn’t reward speed alone. It rewards velocity sustained by structural readiness for weight.” — Helena Frumson

Helena, you’ve helped businesses across the board reach invaluable growth. How would you describe the current business landscape, with its major trends and challenges?

“Growth is everywhere. So is fragility.

I’ve seen too many ventures celebrate early wins while structural cracks deepen beneath them. Years ago, I was brought in to help a five-person company that had just raised funding. Revenue? $1,500. The product was still in MVP mode. The board sensed trouble. 

I joined as interim CEO—not to manage, but to stabilise. In nine months, we restructured the business model, rebuilt the product logic, and introduced monetisation. By year-end, it was generating over $1M in recurring revenue.

That wasn’t luck. That was architecture.

Today’s market still confuses speed with readiness. We’ve all seen pitch decks that scale faster than the product underneath. AI didn’t cause this—it revealed it. Exposed teams stitched together with hustle, products with no route to revenue, and fragile infrastructure dressed up as innovation.

We’re not short on ideas. We’re short on businesses built to survive pressure. And it shows.”

If you were to give businesses a map of the key changes you predict will take place in the next 5-10 years so that they can become better prepared, what would the map point toward?

“We’re entering an era where interdependence will matter more than independence.

It won’t just be about launching fast. It will be about who designs systems that can integrate, compound, and sustain. 

I watched a fund acquire two complementary businesses in the same sector. Obvious synergy, but no one thought to connect them. No systems alignment. No shared logic. I reached out to both leadership teams, got them in conversation, and the value unlocked through a collaboration that required zero new capital. Just sense.

This will define the next wave: companies that don’t just operate, but operate in context. Strategic proximity. Infrastructure that talks across product, people, and partners. 

Community and ecosystem aren’t marketing slides. They’re multipliers.

The high failure rate we see in the business world isn’t inevitable. It’s the cost of designing for independence in an environment that runs on connection. That can change.”

There’s a plethora of reasons why so many companies fail, but if you were to highlight which potential disruptions — or innovations, for that matter — significantly impact the business climate nowadays, what would it be?

“AI is the headline. But the real story is what it exposes.

AI doesn’t reward innovation. It rewards clarity. It surfaces every structural weakness faster, be it team misalignment, logic gaps, or revenue fiction. AI doesn’t replace leadership. It just makes it impossible to fake it.

In an ideal world, AI is your silent partner—running simulations at 2 AM, stress-testing the strategy before the next board meeting. 

The point is this: AI won’t save broken businesses. But it will collapse them faster. Structure, not hype, decides what endures.”

Do you think that focusing on structure over speed and utilizing modern tech to sustain growth will affect job roles, skills requirements, and working practices overall?

“Absolutely. Precision is replacing presence. Outcome is replacing optics.

The most underutilised talent in the market? People who’ve learned to perform under constraint — women, caregivers, disabled professionals, underrepresented founders. These aren’t “diversity hires.” They’re the blueprint for performance under pressure. Given ownership, they scale what others can’t.

We’ve all seen the battles: “back to office” loyalists vs. “I hire adults” founders. I’ve debated both — in boardrooms and corridors. 

But in practice? The adults often outperform three departments. The companies that prioritise capacity over theatre will pull ahead. The rest will keep managing impression.”

What advice would you give to businesses when it comes to adapting to these future changes in strategy and attitude?

“Treat growth like engineering. Not PR.

Have you ever stood over a skyscraper foundation site? You see just how deep a structure needs to go before anything rises. If your revenue model looks like a garage floor, don’t expect altitude.

If it can’t hold under friction — clients pushing back, regulators asking questions, capital markets shifting — it’s not scale. It’s set dressing. Improvisation is fine, but only if the core frame is real.

Build for weight. Then move fast.”

In your view, how is environmental impact intertwined with the responsibility of leaders who scale?

“I grew up in an environment shaped by geology, pressure systems, and rock formations formed over millennia. It grounded my view of strength: it’s always layered. It’s never decorative.

ESG today is still debated like it’s a philosophy. I’ve heard ESG leads say, “Boards don’t believe in it.” My response? Belief isn’t the point. Implementation is.

ROI the impact. Anchor the value in the business. Make it hold.

Good ideas don’t fail from a lack of vision. They fail from weak execution. Don’t let good direction get hijacked by shallow delivery.”

And how might the future of business impact society as a whole?

“If we keep rewarding opacity, we’ll keep breeding distrust. And systems can’t scale on distrust.

Done right, business can remove friction — not just in supply chains, but in people’s lives. I’ve seen it: models that reduce intermediaries, restore dignity, and deliver value to those actually doing the work.

That’s what I call commercial diplomacy: capital flowing faster than bureaucracy, business outrunning extremism. Not because it’s loud, but because it works.

We don’t need slogans. We need systems that scale equity and efficiency. That’s architecture.”

Given all that we’ve discussed, what would you tell someone who’s about to step into the business world right here, right now?

“Don’t chase the title. Learn how power works.

Ask: Who makes decisions? How does money defend itself? Where does risk actually live? Understand that, and you’ll build what lasts.

Most noise doesn’t survive pressure. Most status doesn’t translate to control. So forget the ladder. Build leverage. Be the one holding tension when others fold.

That’s what holds.”

about Helena Frumson

Helena Frumson builds structures under pressure. As a Strategic Growth Architect and Board Advisor, she works where capital is committed, but clarity is critical. As Co-Founder of Infinita Club and Group Commercial and ESG Officer at NeoClear, she supports boards, founders, and capital platforms at high-pressure growth moments. 

Her work focuses on monetisation models, commercial infrastructure, and board-level traction across fintech, innovation ecosystems, and impact-driven platforms. Helena is also a Board Advisor at Rise Up, a Mentor for the female factor and the Founder Institute, and a Board Trustee at First Light.

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