
Ask HN: How to bring in an external CEO for young/successful startup? - no_vc_throwaway
See title. I have bootstrapped two different businesses. Company A is doing very well ($100k&#x2F;mo revenue), but it started to stagnate a couple of years ago.<p>At that point we started Company B. I invested nearly $2mil and 2 years into its development and we just finished building it 2-3 months ago. It currently makes $10k&#x2F;mo and has a very solid business plan that we think will create a very viral growth engine for it.<p>We were just beginning to execute on this business plan when market changes suddenly allowed for Company A to have explosive growth. We suddenly have a vision for how we can turn Company A into a $100mil&#x2F;yr company. This falls under &quot;good problems&quot;, but as the Founder&#x2F;CEO of both I also have the very painful decision that we need to basically abandon Company B to go all in on Company A.<p>With that being said, Company B is generating money and is almost ramen profitable, has a lot of money invested in it, and I still believe in it just as much as I did before.<p>I have considered trying to sell it, but I think at this point it won&#x27;t get anywhere near its value, or what it would be able to get with even just a year of effort put into growing it.<p>So at this point, I am exploring other options, with one attractive one being to let someone else (or some other group) assume the role of CEO in return for a significant equity package (since it is bootstrapped entirely with my money, I own 100% of the company right now). That way I can personally go all in on Company A, but Company B is still left in good hands and can grow to its potential.<p>Is this even realistic and if so how would I even begin to go about doing this? I know how I&#x27;d go about selling Company B, but we are not in Silicon Valley (east coast), and I am not particularly well connected so I&#x27;m not sure who I&#x27;d even start talking to about such a possibility.<p>Basically, how do I go about finding an external CEO to run Company B or am I stuck selling it for 1&#x2F;10th of its investment?
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davismwfl
Such an awesome problem to have, but still a problem. Good on you for
recognizing too that it would be too much to try and do both yourself.
Sometimes our egos get in the way of the best decisions and you seem to have
solved that problem already.

I hired a CEO a while back to run a company that I acquired through some less
then conventional means, but wound up with 100% ownership in. I was and still
am a CTO at another company that is quite separate but I always am on the
lookout for deals which is how this deal fell into my lap. Anyway, I didn't
have any contacts in the main industry the company operated in, but obviously
could understand the model and technology (or I would've skip it). So I
reached out to suppliers and businesses that were in the same vertical but not
competitors and started asking lots of questions. Bought quite a few
lunches/dinners/drinks to learn all that I could and to ask them point blank
if they knew of anyone that might be a fit for what I needed. This took me a
little while, but I generally refuse to use recruiters, so to me it was the
best way to come up with someone I felt had the right skill mix and that I
could cut a deal with that involved more than just a salary. Once I heard a
few names pretty consistently then I approached them and met with them all,
eventually cutting a deal with one to lead the company while I kept my day
job.

My 2 cents. This has worked out great for me, but partially because I am good
at leaving him to do his job and I don't interfere or get in his way. He gives
me regular reports, and calls me for large decisions or things he feels I need
to be in the loop on, since it is still my money and company in the end.
However, I'd say 85-90% of the time I always go with his recommendation, after
all I hired him as the expert. It hasn't always been the right call of course,
but neither have my decisions in my career either, so who cares, fix it and
move on. I only bring this up because if you choose this route over selling
you have to manage things forward and not interfere with the business, you
essentially are a board chairman. That doesn't mean you don't have input etc,
just that you have to be careful how you approach it so you don't destroy the
employee trust in their leadership. Just like founders who constantly bounce
in and out of areas thinking they are making things better instead of using
the leadership they hire to get what they need done, it destroys company's
long term and limits the growth of the company.

