Last week I had an interesting call with one of the founder/CEOs in my portfolio. This is someone I highly trust, and I truly believe he has the potential to take his company all the way, from zero phase to a successful IPO.
During our conversation, we talked about the stage of the company: A working product, growing distribution, a good team, and some initial revenues. We both agreed that it’s time to take the company to the next stage. Leverage the existing foundation of the venture and build a real company: Roles & responsibilities, clear processes, scalable models. It’s time to graduate from elementary school to Junior High.
As the company grows, it’s also time for the CEO to change its title. No longer “founder & CEO”, but rather “CEO & Founder”. Think about it – at the early days of the business, the founder roles are the most critical: Being agile, identify quick opportunities, recruit fast, make unusual bets. At the second stage, it’s about professional management: all the structures I talked about before.
Not all founders can grow to become great CEOs. But I actually do think that many of the founders can make that leap. Maybe the first thing they need to do is to change their business card and embrace their CEO title.
IMHO, Founder is not a title its a status. CEO is not a status (although many may think it is) but rather a title and a role. My business card never said "founder" - just CEO.
Posted by: Rafi Ton | November 16, 2009 at 11:32 AM
I actually agree with you. Also, the founder status can never be taken away from you. Still, a founder has a role in the company and that role is different from that of a CEO. You may have decided to take the CEO title only, but most of the founders I work with go around with a card that says "Founder & CEO".
Posted by: Daniel Cohen | November 17, 2009 at 09:23 PM