"We want to run an exchange that the entire world will use for this crypto-currency that's become very popular and has increased in price 1000% since it became widely known."
I think I would have predicted that they'd need to run at a very large scale, and be able to handle massive spikes. Whether or not I could have convinced them to make the investment is another story.
The problem is what happens if that growth stops? What happens if bitcoin tanks right after you hired 300 new customer service reps and tripled your server hardware?
It's a gamble no matter what, but moving too quickly or moving too slowly results in the company going under.
In that case, I think straddling the line of "overwhelmed when there is a big spike" is a good spot to be in all things consitered.
The optics on "servers are down due to a massive spike in volume" are much better than "Coinbase had another round of layoffs today..."
Currently they are signing people up at a dramatic rate despite their server issues. If they start laying people off because they spun up to fast they could start a panic that would kill them.
They have to weigh all of this in when deciding on an infrastructure spend.
I would also like to think from a purely personal level that they don't want to hire and fire people like that as these are real people with real families involved.
I think I would have predicted that they'd need to run at a very large scale, and be able to handle massive spikes. Whether or not I could have convinced them to make the investment is another story.