growthphase

Growth phase refers to a period during which a system increases in size, output, or activity. It follows an initial adjustment and is marked by rising growth rates, greater resource use, and expanding scale. Growth occurs in biological, ecological, economic, and technological domains and is often described by a growth rate or doubling time. In many systems, rapid increase eventually slows as constraints produce a logistic, S-shaped curve.

In biology and life sciences, growth phases appear on a curve. In microbiology, the log phase is the period of exponential cell division under abundant nutrients and is a focus of fermentation and antibiotic testing. Growth in plants and animal tissues follows developmental stages, such as vegetative and reproductive phases in plants. Growth typically slows when resources limit or waste accumulates.

In business and technology, the growth phase is a lifecycle stage of rapid revenue or user growth and market expansion. Companies invest to scale operations, expand channels, and refine offerings, while managing cash burn, organizational complexity, and the risk of diluting core value. Metrics such as revenue growth rate, customer acquisition cost, lifetime value, and churn are used to guide strategy and assess scalability. See also exponential growth, logistic growth, product lifecycle.