

Reasons Startup CEOs Fail - JayNeely
http://blog.bostonsearchgroup.com/7-reasons-ceos-fail/

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kolya3
Interesting point: "At some point, it may be required that the rest of the
team that started the company with the CEO may need to be changed out for an
executive team with experience at the “growth-stage” versus just the “start-
up” stage."

While I've definitely worked with founders who weren't fit to run a big
company (lack of focus, lack of common sense, blind to customers' needs - you
name it...), the "experienced executive team" that replaced them seemed to go
out of their way to run the company into the ground. I have now seen this
happen 3 times (both at companies I've worked at and friends' companies).

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alain94040
You don't run a $100M business like you run a $1M business.

In the $100M range (and before), you start obsessing about gross margins, tax
issues, renewal business, reduce on-going discount practices, etc.

When you are in the $1M range, you are focusing on gaining your first
customers and it doesn't really matter if the deal is profitable or not, each
sale makes you grow by leaps and bounds.

If you are detail-oriented, you'll enjoy the $100M business. If you are a
born-entrepreneur, you may prefer the 0-to-1 adventure. I know where I stand.

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run4yourlives
_and it doesn't really matter if the deal is profitable or not,_

Um, it matters _more_ , if anything. SV mentality is not the path to success.
The faster you get profitable, the better your chances overall.

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staunch
For a tiny business immediate profitably might be an absolute requirement for
the survival of a company. For a company that's prepared to spend money to
have significant long term success it's a different story.

It may very well be wise to aim for $10 million in revenue with $500k losses
rather than a more conservative $1 million revenue with $50k profit.

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jodrellblank
_the founder CEO can become caught up in the initial “vision” and stick to it
regardless of external market input that would indicate changes to the initial
value proposition are needed to capture broader market adoption_

This bugs me like the idea that public companies are legally obliged to
maximise shareholder value.

Aren't you supposed to build something you want? Build something you're
passionate about? Isn't the current economic collapse and markets overflowing
with a slurry of average products a symptom of companies focused on growth and
money and market capture instead of doing a good job?

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tjic
> This bugs me like the idea that public companies are legally obliged to
> maximise shareholder value. ... Aren't you supposed to build something you
> want?

Yes ... if YOU OWN IT.

If you are the EMPLOYEE of a company OWNED by other people (i.e. "CEO of a
publicly traded company"), then you do not get to be a prima donna with other
people's money (i.e. their retirement hopes, their investment for their kids'
educations, etc.). You buckle down and you do your job. And that job is
"trying to grow the investment".

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jodrellblank
And that bugs me.

Check out Engadget.com on and off. See the churn of _shite_ products. See how
they "maximise market capture" and "shareholder value" by choosing "everyone"
as their target market. See how much missed opportunity to make groundbreaking
standout devices or cult niche items there is in the dreary ongoing clone
wars.

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fnazeeri
Great post!

