Job of CEO
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Here is an awesome interview on Mixergy , and I like a ton of them on there. This one is Jason Cohen who has been popular in the startup community for awhile. There's a lot of gems in this interview, but the one that stood out the most was his bit about how much a founder's time is worth. I'll summarize it for you here, but it's worth watching the entire interview. Most folks starting a business will assume their time is worth whatever their hourly rate was before staring a business.
A startup founder's hourly rate by Nathan Kontny
On founders and professional CEOs and the difference between innovators and executors « « The Equity KickerThe Equity Kicker
I mentioned a couple of weeks back that I am reading Clayten Christensen’s new book, Innovators DNA: Mastering the Five Skills of Disruptive Innovators . I’m still really enjoying it, and I now have a second major takeaway. As I wrote last time, the first take away was that to a large extent innovation is a learnt skill that can be self taught. The new insight is that the skills of a good innovator – associative thinking, questioning, observing, experimenting and networking are very different to the skills of executives who are more execution focused – analysis, planning, detail-oriented implementation and self-discipline. These skills are not mutually exclusive, but they are very different. This is interesting in the context of the development of a startup.
Simple descriptions which capture the essence of complex concepts and objects are powerful tools for self analysis and monitoring. They work particularly well within teams of people because they are easy to remember and refer back to. I often refer back to that when boards start straying off piste, for example into operational matters. (Boards sometimes need to involve themselves in operational matters, but the point is to make sure it is a short-lived involvement.)
The CEO’s job in a larger startup « « The Equity KickerThe Equity Kicker
Why Your Startup Doesn’t Need a COO
Startups don’t need – shouldn’t have – COOs. I have this conversation with every startup that comes to see me and has a CEO & a COO. I think usually a COO title at a startup is an ego thing. You have two founders and it was agreed that one would get the CEO role so the other needs to call themselves president or COO. But ask yourself, what does a COO actually do? In a mature company it’s often like a presidential chief of staff.
To be clear, I said that most companies I see pitching have COOs & I don’t have a rule against it. I’ve had several COOs at companies in which I’ve invested. In bringing up the issue I wasn’t “hating on COOs” – I’m just challenging you to think about whether your CEO + COO structure really provides the right amount of clarity in your organization. I usually judge people’s reactions not by the comments section of my post (where people are a little bit more polite so you get selective bias) but by the private emails I get.
Further Thoughts on Startup Operations
11:12 AM Thursday August 4, 2011 | Comments (102) Among the many requirements placed on those who take responsibility for the performance of others, there is one that is rarely mentioned. Yet, ironically, it may be the most important because so much else depends on it.
The First Requirement for Becoming a Great Boss - Linda Hill & Kent Lineback - Harvard Business Review
Great chefs find things in the style, presentation and technique used in a meal that the ordinary diner never sees. Great musicians hear things that casual listeners completely miss. CEOs evaluate other CEOs much differently than the popular press or the general population. In mainstream thinking, the absolute success of the company determines the CEO’s success.
The CEO’s CEO // ben's blog
From founder to CEO
You're a developer, and you've just been pitched a startup idea by a non-technical founder wanting you to join them in building a company. It's the 10th time this month this has happened, and you're getting more and more skeptical. "Why shouldn't I just start something on my own? After I have a basic product, I can bring a non-technical partner on."
How to evaluate a non-technical co-founder - Hirelite Blog
How To Maximize Your Value At A Startup
On September 8, 1965, baseball player Dagoberto Campaneris Blanco became the first major leaguer to play all nine positions in a nine-inning game. Technically, he filled ten roles, as he pitched left handed when facing right-handed batters and right handed with lefties at the plate. Despite his status as an all-star shortstop, Bert proved himself to be a selfless utility player. Over his career, he played all three outfield positions, as well as second and third base. His willingness to add value wherever his coach needed him most, not only helped his teams win three consecutive World Championships, but it also allowed Bert to extend his career by making himself Indispensible .
How To Avoid Getting Fired From Your Own Company
Editor’s note : Guest author Chris Yeh is an independent angel investor and VP of Marketing for PBworks , one of his investments. He has been involved with Internet startups since 1995. His Twitter handle is @chrisyeh . If you start a company, it will probably happen to you someday.
This is the second part of my 45-minute interview with Steve Blank , author of T he Four Steps to the Epiphany, an entrepreneur (founder of E.piphany - which went public in 1999) and one of the pioneers of the popular lean-startup movement. In this segment, Steve talks about the job of a CEO. Chief executives wear a lot of hats, from designing the product, selling it and handling the finances.
What is the job of a CEO?
I am posting this as a MBA Mondays post. But I did not learn this little lesson at business school. I learned it from a very experienced venture capitalist early in my post-MBA career.
What a CEO does
This is a guest post by Mark Suster, a 2x entrepreneur who has gone to the Dark Side of VC. He started his first company in 1999 and was headquartered in London, leaving in 2005 and selling to a publicly traded French services company. He founded his second company in Palo Alto in 2005 and sold this company to Salesforce.com, becoming VP of Product Management. He joined GRP Partners in 2007 as a General Partner focusing on early-stage technology companies. Read more about Suster at Bothsidesofthetable and on Twitter at @msuster.
My Life As A CEO (And VC): Chief Psychologist
13 Things You Must Do Every Week As A Startup CEO | betashop
Being the CEO of a startup is a hard and complex job. Here’s my quick list of the 13 things every startup CEO should make sure to do each week: Remember your One Thing. Your startup can only do one thing well at a time. Know Your One Thing. Write it on the wall.The number 1 most important thing for you to focus on as a founder or CEO of a startup is going to keep shifting over the life of the company. If things go well while you have the title of "CEO" you may go from coder -> lead recruiter -> eng manager / product manager -> sales guy -> CMO -> acting VP product -> acting VP sales -> external evangelist -> government relations lead -> Global Tech Statesman -> Gubanatorial candidate -> Pundit -> retired old cranky guy who always complains about how much stronger entrepreneurs were "back in my day when YC only admitted 42 startups a batch". Startups are a rollercoaster rid e - every time you make it over one hump (hiring the first employee, fundraising, launching an alpha, etc.) you will suddenly see the next, new challenge looming on the horizon. You need to stay focused on the challenge.