
Who should be CEO? - ericc

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waleedka
The CEO is the business guy. As a CEO, you don't get to code. Instead, you'll
get to do the paperwork, answering phones, making cold calls, a lot of
meetings, and a lot of traveling. It's fun at first, but gets boring quickly
for technical people. You have to be comfortable with that role and must be a
good communicator and marketer.

It's a fancy title, but don't let that tempt you against your good judgement.
The founders of a lot of technology startups go out and hire an outsider to be
the CEO. Google is a good example. Even Steve Jobs hired a CEO in the early
days of Apple.

If you're in the very early days, then just put Founder as a title for all
founders. You don't need to get into conflicts too early.

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zaidf
For us, giving the ceo title actually helps. I think even for startup you need
that one guy who gives constant thought to the big picture. At the same time,
you don't want your chief coder to be day dreaming too much about all the non-
technical issues.

So having a ceo as the guy who brings together everything is a good way to
establish responsibility and SOME structure in the startup.

I will say that while most ceos of big companies don't spend much time coding,
for 2-3 person startups it is very common to find the ceo doing coding and/or
designing IN ADDITION to business work.

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ericc
Makes perfect sense for a 2-3 member startup, where all the founders wear
multiple hats and structuring the different efforts seems like an important
undertaking.

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erdos2
I suggest outsourcing CEOs:
[http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/09/opinion/09orlow.html?ex=1307505600&en;=8926f03224ff1d65&ei;=5088&partner;=rssnyt&emc;=rss](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/09/opinion/09orlow.html?ex=1307505600&en=8926f03224ff1d65&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss)

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elad
In my first company (founded 9 years ago) we were three founders and I was
CEO. The decision was easy - the other two were better technologists, and I
had better people skills. In my new start-up the first thing I did was bring
in a friend I trust, with business experience relevant to the venture (but no
technology experience) as partner and CEO. So, what gives? It was fun holding
the title back then, and I didn't do a bad job, but eventually I realized that
the technology is more interesting for me, and as CEO you simply don't get to
deal with that. Now that I'm a much better techie than I was back then, it was
just obvious to me that I shouldn't be CEO.

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asdf333
Being CEO has its downsides like any other job. It means you are the one that
shields everyone else from verbal beatings if customers are unhappy.

You're the guy that takes the heat if something is not going well. Especially
at a small company, if someone is going to get chewed out by the customer, its
going to be you. It often means you have to stay later and work harder than
everyone else.

So. With power (the final say) comes alot of responsibility.

So who should it be? It probably depends alot on the business but lots of
styles could work.

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zaidf
Usually the guy who is handling the business side of things--such as
incorporation, running the marketing etc.

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ericc
How did you guys decide about this? A very important and sensitive question,
but if you guys can give some insight on this, that would be great!!

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ericc
How much of a role do investors have in deciding the CEO?

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waleedka
If you're in an early stage and seeking seed funding, then you should have
everything thought out before talking to investors. Don't ask investors to
help you decide which of the founders should be CEO because they'll take it as
a sign that your partners and you can't work things out on your own. Investors
want confident people who know what they're doing and go for it; they can
smell fear and they'll disappear before you finish asking the question.
Remember, it's YOUR company and it's YOUR responsibility. Investors help you
with funding, introductions, and, maybe, some advice; but don't let them run
your company for you. On the other hand, if you're in a later stage and
seeking big VC funding then it's a whole different story. Talk to experienced
entrepreneurs or close investors about the specific details of your situation;
theyll give you great insight. Although the key princeples are the same: it's
your responsibility and you're expected to have strong leadership.

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staunch
Me.

