Growth problems occur as the business scales and decisions inevitably favor the shortest possible path to a better solution, however small, and with little regard to the long term. Balancing the long term with the incremental iterations is the holy grail of strategy. It takes a blend of industry expertise, the sales funnel, and the right software abstractions that solve cross-cutting problems.
Most founders know the first two very well, but the last one is difficult to crack. It requires sound architectural knowledge of the current system, along with a curious interest of how the rest of the company works. The lines of code need to be secondary to the human side of the business. This is a rare find.
Great founders find a way to fill this role. Sometimes they land a great hire, but other times they find a trusted consultant, and keep the vision flowing from the top.
I hope more software engineers start to recognize the value in the knowledge they have, and shift their focus on how to maximally _apply_ it, instead of waiting for a requirements document and acceptance criteria.