When Philippa Girling, Leah Lykins, and Lynda Coleman launched Camp Château – a summer camp for women in a quiet corner of southwest France – their vision was simple: rest, connection, joy. A place where women could have some breathing space, feel supported and just relax.

Then a post about the camp went viral. In four days, it hit 20 million views. Bookings flooded in and the Camp sold out for the next two years. A waitlist of 10,000+ women followed.

It was exciting… and overwhelming. And it immediately tested everything that they thought they were building.

If your business is growing faster than you expected, here’s how Philippa and the team kept the mission intact while figuring things out in real time.

1. When demand spikes, protect the mission first

Camp Château was built to be inclusive and accessible. Philippa and the team talk about their values of community, excellence, authenticity, and joy constantly, and use them as a way to hold themselves accountable.

But with overnight success and limited Camp spots available, it started to feel exclusive – the exact opposite of what Philippa had intended.

“Now we’re not delivering on our mission because it’s so hard to get in.”

Philippa’s response wasn’t to raise prices or lean into scarcity. Instead, she expanded carefully, opening up more weeks of camp, launching an online community, and eventually searching for a second château to meet the demand.

Key takeaway: When your business takes off unexpectedly, the real test is staying true to your roots. Always ask: ‘Does this still reflect why we started?’ This ensures your core mission guides every decision, even as you grow.

2. You don’t need to have all the systems in place but you do need to build them fast

Philippa had a five-year roadmap for Camp Château but social media had other ideas!

“We did not have processes in place to handle 700 bookings in 5 days.”

Her team put some scrappy systems in place and scrambled to catch up. They also really leaned into a learn-as-you-go approach, telling their founding members, “we don’t really know what we’re doing here. Can you give us lots of feedback so we can fix things before camp starts?!” This allowed them to quickly set up what was needed and scale as they went.

Key takeaway: When unexpected demand hits, don’t wait for perfect systems. Focus on what’s breaking now and build solutions fast. Adapt and create processes as you go, and focus on keeping pace with your growth, rather than letting all the eventual ‘must-haves’ overwhelm you.

3. Don’t be afraid to say no

When a business takes off, new opportunities and money often flood in, making it tempting to scale rapidly or accept lucrative offers. However, staying true to your original vision sometimes means saying no, even when the world is telling you to say yes. Philippa, for instance, has “no interest in scaling for scale’s sake.” 

She was clear: “We are never exiting. We are never selling to Marriott. We are never becoming Disney.” This meant turning down investors and paths that didn’t align with Camp Château‘s core purpose, prioritizing her long-term vision over immediate financial gains.

Key takeaway: When new opportunities come calling, don’t be afraid to say no to offers that don’t align with your core purpose. Staying true to your vision is more valuable than scaling for scale’s sake.

4. When things speed up, lean into what energizes your team

As demand grew, so did Philippa’s task list, and eventually the team grew too. But instead of simply assigning tasks to whoever was free to take them, Philippa took a different approach, asking team members:

“What are the things that fill you with energy? And what are the things that suck the energy right out of you?”

It shaped how roles evolved and who stayed long-term. One woman came in to interview for a cleaning job and left as the full-time groundskeeper!

Key takeaway: When your team is under pressure from rapid growth, focus on what energizes each person. Aligning roles with individual strengths and passions, rather than just task lists, builds a more resilient and engaged team that can navigate change effectively

5. You can’t do it all. Stop trying.

At one point, Philippa was the CEO, CFO, COO, Head of HR, and legal counsel – all while co-running camp and painting the bedrooms herself.

“I realized that the biggest challenge is finding time to calmly work through the complexities… How can I make this so that it doesn’t rely on me?”

She’s now hiring more operational support. Slowly and intentionally and making calls quickly when someone isn’t the right fit.

Key takeaway: If you’re still in ‘I can do everything’ mode, it’s time to start handing things off. A business that’s growing at scale needs a focused leader, and specialists that can help carry the load.

Since their viral moment, Camp Château has continued to grow, and Philippa’s most important role since then has been to keep her original intent and the needs of the camp-goers at the center.

If you’re in the middle of sudden growth, it might feel like everything is moving faster than you can handle. That’s normal. What matters is staying clear on what you’re building, who it’s for, and how you want it to feel: for you, and for them.

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