Before learning to code, I worked as a sound engineer in theatre, where "the show must go on" is almost a mantra. Ensuring a flawless performance takes cohesiveness in what can be described as organised chaos. Each department, wardrobe, sound, lighting and stage management, contributes specialised knowledge, but the combined outcome far exceeds what any single department could achieve alone. When an actor needs to switch mid-show due to illness or injury, this happens without stopping the performance through meticulous communication and a clear visual representation of what needs to be accomplished.

Many of these same coordination challenges arise in business, but in our rush to move rapidly, we often don't put the same concerted effort into communicating clearly.

Silos in action: Perfection French

In the early days of language startup PerfectionFrench, the entire team worked around a single desk. When Product Manager Sarah spotted user issues, she'd simply turn to the three engineers beside her.

Success changed everything. After rapid growth to hundreds of thousands of users and a Series A round, CTO Albert walked through offices now housing 47 people. He felt nostalgic for those late-night coding sessions but shrugged it off, focusing on how successful they'd become.

Albert should have paused to worry. Teams had splintered into separate communication tools while operational pressures led to restricted code reviews, paused learning programs, and reduced feedback sessions. These seemingly logical decisions were quietly eroding the knowledge-sharing culture.

Silos were forming, and Albert had a short runway before these fractures would cause visible problems.

What is a Silo?

The dictionary definition is straightforward: "A large, round tower on a farm for storing grain or winter food for cattle, especially silage." These agricultural structures isolate contents to prevent contamination; this is precisely what happens when tech teams stop sharing information and function as separate islands.

Software development was never a one-person show, and it's too complex in today's rapidly changing landscape for isolated teams to handle effectively. In an industry built on collaboration, teamwork, and information sharing aren't nice-to-haves; they're requirements.

How silos form: A scaling paradox

As companies grow, informal communication can break down, and specialised teams naturally drift into silos, which is an inevitable side effect of scaling. This becomes problematic when it happens so rapidly that teams lose sight of how their work connects to the bigger picture.

When communication breaks down, knowledge becomes trapped within teams or individuals. This brings us to bus factors: how many people need to get hit by a bus before your system becomes unmanageable.

The consequences: everything is on fire, and we don’t know where the hose is

Lacking collaboration and duplicating solutions

When information to solve a problem is lacking, teams invest time creating solutions that may already exist elsewhere. Studies show individuals can spend a month a year doing duplicated work. Often, this occurs simply because they lack the awareness that the solution already exists. During our technical due diligence audit process, neglecting documentation often arises as an issue. It can usually seem like a lower priority, with teams frequently feeling that they have insufficient time to work on it.

Making incorrect assumptions

Assumptions become dangerous consequences of information gaps. When teams can't understand the broad context, perhaps because roadmaps aren't visible or decision-making happens behind closed doors, they fill in the blanks themselves. Some assumptions inevitably prove incorrect, resulting in misalignment.

A lack of collaboration: startup and scaleup disconnect

The alienation that arises isn't about individual teams failing; it's about everyone fighting battles on isolated islands without understanding how their work connects to the larger mission. Teams don't usually set out to isolate themselves, but without deliberate collaboration, it becomes the default state.

Breaking down silos: building bridges

The instinct to "break down silos" makes it sound like walls you can smash with a sledgehammer. But since silos often form organically around expertise and efficiency, the real challenge isn't destruction, it's how to create connection. The goal isn't eliminating specialisation but ensuring expertise becomes a shared resource rather than a guarded territory.

How to build a bridge and collaborate?

Embed knowledge sharing into daily workflows. Make documentation the core that allows context to flow between teams. When documentation doesn’t exist, create clear pathways for people to ask for information. Videos fill critical gaps where written documentation falls short.

Pair programming and code reviews become knowledge distribution mechanisms, not just quality checks. If only one person consistently performs code reviews, a silo is forming around that individual. Don't allow developers to choose their tasks; they'll likely gravitate toward comfort zones, reinforcing gaps rather than distributing knowledge.

Other ideas include cross-functional project squads based on outcomes, using metrics everyone understands, and show-and-tell presentations. Remain vigilant for duplicate tooling and ensure consolidation, every platform added creates a potential silo. Lastly, run retrospectives where possible; they will help you to identify friction points.

Prevention: the lesson from the theatre

Theatre companies face the ultimate silo challenge-specialised departments that must coordinate flawlessly under extreme time pressure. They succeed because silos are connected through practised, rehearsed coordination, not by eliminating specialisation.

Shows have "a show bible," a single source of truth containing every cue, prop, and movement, with a specific individual assigned to maintain it. Crystal-clear decision hierarchies mean issues during a performance are resolved without discussion. In every critical role, someone is prepared through rehearsal to step in if needed, with cross-training embedded rather than an afterthought. Technical rehearsals in controlled environments let failures happen so the whole company can problem-solve together.

The rehearsal never ends

Albert's nostalgia wasn't about the late nights; it was about the seamless coordination that made everything work. As PerfectionFrench scaled from six people around a single desk to forty-seven across multiple time zones, they'd lost something more valuable than proximity: the practice of collaboration that theatre companies never stop rehearsing.

The biggest takeaway is that cohesion results from practice. Rehearsals continue after opening night, with continuous refinement. In tech, cross-functional collaboration is often treated as a one-time problem to solve. Companies that scale successfully build rehearsal into their rhythm.

Coordination isn't something you achieve once; it's something you practise continuously. The gradual cracks in PerfectionFrench's foundation were preventable, but only through deliberate, ongoing effort to build bridges faster than walls could form. In the unforgiving world of startups, where the curtain rises every day on new challenges, the companies that survive are those that never stop rehearsing their most important performance: working together.