
Ask HN: Worth it to become CEO of maybe failing YC company? - throwawaySTYLE
I saw the HN jobs post yesterday for the CEO position for Style Lend
(description https:&#x2F;&#x2F;angel.co&#x2F;stylelend&#x2F;jobs&#x2F;466268-ceo-co-founder)<p>They are a P2P fashion service for women, and have been around for at least 4 years (YC Winter 14). Clearly they have stalled, it seems the last money they raised was in 2015.<p>The founder&#x2F;CEO is giving up her position.<p>Are there examples of small startups like this turning it around after 4 years?<p>What would be the pro and cons of taking this job?
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toomuchtodo
Pros:

Prestige and name recognition if you can turn it around. It’d be a ticket
towards working with other YC startups that have stalled, as well as non-
startups that have stagnated. Maybe it gets you on a partner track at YC.

You’re interested in the space and think you can execute better than the
previous CEO (and you can work with the limited remaining resources the
company has).

If successful, everyone’s equity isn’t worthless.

Cons:

You’re likely to fail, but get paid in the process. You’ll still have a
compelling story to use for future employment (“this is what I learned from
failing”). More importantly, other people’s jobs depend on you.

~~~
remilouf
Before even considering it I would ask the CEO why she’s leaving _and_ the
employees. Some people have very good reasons to leave a sinking ship (family
being the most common), but others leave because of systemic problems in the
company. I’ve seen CEOs burning out their team by creating a climate of fear
before leaving when things go sour, claiming everyone is « incompetent ». I
really advise you to spend A LOT of time talking to employees.

Cons:

\- You’ll have to learn about a lot of different people at the same time. In
early stages startup you get to meet people one after another and earn their
trust one after another. This is different.

\- You probably have a different vision than that of the previous CEO, and
you’ll have to go the extra mile to align everyone.

\- You inherit a culture you didn’t shape. You’ll probably have to change
that, and it will take time for people to adjust. Just lead by example. \- All
of this takes time, and meanwhile the company needs to survive :)

Pros:

\- You’ll ramp up your people skills like never before. Gaining the respect of
an entire team as a CEO, and (sometimes) repairing damage will take a lot of
courage and empathy.

\- Obviously, if you turn this around you’ll get major valley cred. And, never
underestimate this, a huge satisfaction.

If you decide to go that way, good luck, and you already have my respect!

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dyeje
Probably not, you're not going to go through the YC process where most of the
value is.

