

Ask HN: How many employees before you can call yourself CE0 & not sound foolish? - jackbean

Surely 0 doesn't count.
======
zbruhnke
As someone who has owned several companies there is one conversation that
comes to mind with me. When I went to take out my first ever business line of
credit I sat down with a banker, our company was small (6 total employees at
the time) and I was young (19)

And when the banker asked me what my title was he continued with "CEO,
President, etc." and I remember thinking at that point I had a decision to
make, I could be the kind of pretentious owner that has "employees" or the
kind of hard working example setting owner that has "co-workers" and makes
them want to strive and be better so I opted for the latter.

I looked back at the Banker and said well you know Ross when everyone leaves
at night and I'm sweeping the floor I usually consider myself the Janitor, so
why don't we just go with that.

He chose not to use that title for paperwork purposes but my point in telling
that story is that if you're a young and growing company and you're worried
about whether or not your title should be "CEO" or "President" the title you
are likely to end up having is "Unemployed".

Work your ass off and work with your employees don't let them work for you. If
nothing else is to be done pick up a broom, help a co-worker or just find a
way to be productive and lead by example. If you do that there's a chance lots
of people will be knocking down your door to interview the "CEO" of "X" the
next successful company with humble beginnings.

My point here is basically that if and when the time comes to be labeled a CEO
chances are someone else will do it for you. Thats what happened to me a few
years later when i sold that same company. and until they do you're probably
better off just being the janitor :)

~~~
jackbean
I think I might've given off the wrong impression with the title here. Lately
been coming across multiple "CEOs" and "VPs" and thought it was a bit funny.

A better title would've been "Isn't it silly to cal yourself CEO when you've 0
employees?"

But I completely agree with what you've said.

------
robflynn
I prefer "founder" and/or "co-founder" until the company gets to the point
that a distinction is really necessary.

I suppose that is not entirely helpful as that still does not answer where
that distinction is.

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EECS
Personally, unless the conversation warrants (i.e. where it matters) to
mention I'm a founder or CEO or anything of so-called C-level / executive
rank, I try my best to leave it out. Instead, I usually say "I work for...".

Don't really think its silly but I find that most people don't call themselves
a CEO unless you specifically ask for a title in those situations. It's more
common for me to hear people say they're working on a new startup (as opposed
to really saying they're exploring an idea).

Titles are meaningless in most cases in startups. We made it a point not to
even include titles in our business cards on my last startup. It just doesn't
matter.

------
gyardley
Titles are like clothes, and context is important.

The sole proprietor of a one-person company should call himself CEO without
hesitation if it helps him get what he wants. The person in charge of a
thousand-person company should reject the CEO title when it gets in the way of
his goals.

At the last small (~5 employee) startup I ran, I used the CEO title when
dealing with media companies and large organizations and the co-founder title
when doing marketing to developers. Worked out fine.

If someone's used the CEO title in front of you and you've thought they were
foolish, they've either misunderstood the context or you've come across
something you're just not the primary audience for.

------
lacker
If there is even one other person at the company, calling yourself the CEO is
helpful, rather than foolish. In particular, it signals to potential investors
and business partners that you are the one to contact regarding investments or
other business deals. Don't get hung up on it, just go ahead and be the CEO.

------
mdpm
'Chief' is sort of redundant if there are no other 'executive officers'.
'Officer' too if it's just you.

I prefer 'Director'.

edit: as per
[https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Executive_Dir...](https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Executive_Director)

------
JoachimSchipper
CE0 (with the zero)? Enough that you can set trends. 10 000 may be a good
number to shoot for.

------
staunch
I always say "co-founder". It's accurate and unpretentious, but still conveys
the important fact that I speak for the company.

Sometimes I use "co-owner" for non-startup people, since "founder" is a
somewhat startupy term.

------
not_chriscohoat
I've seen loads of two person companies with a CEO title. And even single
person startups with 0 employees sometimes have a CEO. If I were you, I'd get
less hung up on titles and just get to work :P

~~~
hansy
Totally agree with just getting to work

But titles are free, so if they make you feel better and make you more
productive, might as well give yourself one

~~~
not_chriscohoat
Agreed. At least with my start-up there were so many roles for each person
initially that titles were just there for your reasons. It most likely makes
sense later, when roles are more clearly defined.

