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How We Secretly Lose Control of Our Startups
Should Kids Follow in Our Founder Footsteps?
The Evolution of Entry Level Workers
Assume Everyone Will Leave in Year One
Stop Listening to Investors
Was Mortgaging My Life Worth it?
What's My Startup Worth in an Acquisition?
When Our Ambition is Our Enemy
Are Startups in a "Silent Recession"?
The 5 Types of Startup Funding
What Is Startup Funding?
Do Founders Deserve Their Profit?
Michelle Glauser on Diversity and Inclusion
The Utter STUPIDITY of "Risking it All"
Committees Are Where Progress Goes to Die
More Money (Really Means) More Problems
Why Most Founders Don't Get Rich
Investors will be Obsolete
Why is a Founder so Hard to Replace?
We Can't Grow by Saying "No"
Do People Really Want Me to Succeed?
Is the Problem the Player or the Coach?
Will Investors Bail Me Out?
The Value of Actually Getting Paid
Why do Founders Suck at Asking for Help?
Wait a Minute before Giving Away Equity
You Only Think You Work Hard
SMALL is the New Big — Embracing Efficiency in the Age of AI
The 9 Best Growth Agencies for Startups
This is BOOTSTRAPPED — 3 Strategies to Build Your Startup Without Funding
Never Share Your Net Worth
A Steady Hand in the Middle of the Storm
Risk it All vs Steady Paycheck
How About a Startup that Just Makes Money?
How to Recruit a Rockstar Advisor
Why Having Zero Experience is a Huge Asset
My Competitor Got Funded — Am I Screwed?
The Hidden Treasure of Failed Startups
If It Makes Money, It Makes Sense
Why do VCs Keep Giving Failed Founders Money?
$10K Per Month isn't Just Revenue — It's Life Support
The Ridiculous Spectrum of Investor Feedback
Startup CEOs Aren't Really CEOs
Series A, B, C, D, and E Funding: How It Works
Best Pitch Decks Ever: The Most Successful Fundraising Pitches You Need to Know
When to Raise Funds
Why Aren't Investors Responding to Me?
Should I Regret Not Raising Capital?
Unemployment Cases — Why I LOOOOOVE To Win Them So Much.
How Much to Pay Yourself
Heat-Seeking Missile: WePay’s Journey to Product-Market Fit — Interview with Rich Aberman, Co-Founder of Wepay
The R&D technique for startups: Rip off & Duplicate
Why Some Startups Win.
Chapter #1: First Steps To Validate Your Business Idea
Product Users, Not Ideas, Will Determine Your Startup’s Fate
Drop Your Free Tier
Your Advisors Are Probably Wrong
Growth Isn't Always Good
How to Shut Down Gracefully
How Does My Startup Get Acquired?
Can Entrepreneurship Be Taught?
How to Pick the Wrong Co-Founder
Staying Small While Going Big
Investors are NOT on Our Side of the Table
Who am I Really Competing Against?
Why Can't Founders Replace Themselves?
Actually, We Have Plenty of Time
Quitting vs Letting Go
How Startups Actually Get Bought
What if I'm Building the Wrong Product?
Are Founders Driven by Fear or Greed?
Why I'm Either Working or Feeling Guilty
Startup Financial Assumptions
Why Every Kid Should be a Startup Founder
We Only Have to be Right Once
If a Startup Sinks, Founders Go Down With it
Founder Success: We Need a Strict Definition of Personal Success
Is Quiet Quitting a Problem at Startup Companies?
Founder Exits are Hard Work and Good Fortune, Not "Good Luck"
Finalizing Startup Projections
All Founders are Beloved In Good Times
Our Startup Culture of Entitlement
The Bullshit Case for Raising Capital
How do We Manage Our Founder Flaws?
What If my plan for retirement is "never retire"?
Startup Failure is just One Chapter in Founder Life
6 Similarities between Startup Founders and Pro Athletes
All Founders Make Bad Decisions — and That's OK
Startup Board Negotiations: How do I tell the board I need a new deal?
Founder Sacrifice — At What Point Have I Gone Too Far?
Youth Entrepreneurship: Can Middle Schoolers be Founders?
Living the Founder Legend Isn't so Fun
Why Do VC Funded Startups Love "Fake Growth?"
How Should I Share My Wealth with Family?
How Many Deaths Can a Startup Survive?
This is Probably Your Last Success
Why Do We Still Have Full-Time Employees?
The Case Against Full Transparency
Should I Feel Guilty for Failing?
Always Take Money off the Table

Startup CEOs Aren't Really CEOs

Wil Schroter

Startup CEOs Aren't Really CEOs

Becoming a startup CEO requires zero qualifications — that's because we're often not really CEOs (for those that don't already know, a CEO is the chief executive officer of a company).

Anyone who founds a company is by default the CEO. My 9-year-old daughter incorporated her pet-sitting business and is technically its CEO. But she doesn't walk around comparing herself to Jeff Bezos.

As Founder-CEOs, we need to have a very sober outlook on our new title and as such, so do all of the people around us. After all, a successful startup CEO is responsible for more than a "company builder" — they are expected to create the company culture, form the leadership team, and keep everyone in the org moving in the right direction. We basically need to take the title with a grain of salt while we prove what job we're supposed to have.

Titled Doesn't Mean Qualified

I coach my 5-year-old son's basketball team and according to everyone, I'm the "Coach." Is that because I'm a good coach, or know anything about basketball? No. I have no clue what a Point Guard is, and I'm told that people who coach professionally apparently do.

I'm the coach because I'm the only person who stepped up to wrangle a bunch of 5-year-olds around on a Saturday morning. I didn't beat out anyone else for the job and in fact, I think a couple of these 5-year-olds could replace me.

That's the difference between having a title because we just happened to be the only one who was present and earning the job because we were exceptionally good at the role. We all get the startup Founder and CEO titles for free — but whether we later earn them is the big question.

Most Founders going at it for the first time (and still in the early stage of the startup journey) aren't versed, nor prepared, for the many responsibilities a startup needs to survive. If buzz words like customer acquisition, go to market strategy, or product market fit don't ring a bell, it's likely you may not be ready to fill the shoes of a company's CEO.

A CEO's job means establishing the startup culture, creating startup boards, raising money, and discovering resource allocation within a very specific budget.

Our Fake CEO Expectations

In a Fortune 500 company, CEOs are expected to be experienced and have a track record of success. We expect that they know their job like we expect our doctor finished Med School. We hear the title and we have a certain degree of expectations.

The problem with startup CEOs is that we still have the overall expectations for that role — to lead a company to greatness — yet we don't get any reassurance that the driver at the wheel has their license. What we struggle with as startup Founders/CEOs is the expectation of operating like a CEO without any experience in doing so. Everyone around us expects us to magically have all of these skills that almost no one does when they get the gig. We're literally all figuring it out as we go.

Startup Founders of successful startups are typically very company focused and have the previous experience to claim their seat at the startup throne. That said, most startup CEOs aren't doing everything on their own. They have the right management team in place to help with employee success, and many times, a group of board members to lean on with impossible decisions (that we all know and love — NOT).

Most companies with CEOs like Steve Jobs have the bigger vision in mind while also creating handling direct reports from the senior team.

We Get the Title but Earn the Job

And that's why startup CEOs aren't really CEOs. We all get the title, but to really be the CEO, we have to earn that job. We earn the job not by going through the motions of an executive (anyone can do that), but by driving the outcomes a CEO is supposed to. We're finding the best talent, managing our finances responsibly, and building a lasting, great company.

With enough persistence and hard work, we'll hopefully get there. But we can't take that title seriously until we've put up the "wins" to say we've earned the job. Although not mentioned, this is also true for every co founder on the team.

To that end, my 5-year-old's basketball team is already 3-0 in the regular season, so I'm pretty sure I'm qualified to take Frank Vogel's job at the LA Lakers someday soon. Side note, I had to Google who the coach of the Lakers was... maybe I need a few more games.

In Case You Missed It

If We Want Power, Create Power A lot of us are used to hearing people telling us what we should and shouldn't do, what we can and cannot achieve just because these people have tried it or have been in a similar situation. What they don't realize though is what works for them may not work for you, and vice versa.

Am I Lying or Just Being Optimistic? (podcast) What if you have this strong conviction that what you're building will lead to success? What if you have this strong sense of positivity and optimism? Will it be enough to gain people's trust and continue to pour more money into your company? But what if it's just blind optimism and you're not really getting anywhere?

Startup Culture is a Reflection of the Founder Everything you do has implications and if you let instigators of negativity be, you're allowing a nasty culture to spread.

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Peter Kyle

In the startup world, the current CEO is not necessarily the future CEO. This indicates that you are currently in charge of the company. This person may have founded or co-founded the company, but this is not always the case. https://www.mcdvoicecom.info/

Reply2 years ago

Grainne Jocasta

Thanks for sharing.
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