what to look for when becoming a startup ceo
The CEO is the keeper of the company'south overall vision. I'1000 non talking about the vision for the next few months, but the larger road ahead. The CEO needs to be able to keep things on course for the current quarter to make certain that the large overarching vision of the visitor can exist achieved. The takeover the globe vision of a startup usually can't be achieved in 1 year or fifty-fifty in some cases, similar Google, in a decade. It takes a not bad startup CEO to continue the company on track to reach that vision. A great startup CEO will often approximate upcoming initiatives to see if they fit in as a piece of the large puzzle for the bigger vision. A startup CEO needs to be the personal voodoo doll for a startup. They need to be able to take on a strong burden of stress, pain, and torture all while making level headed decisions. You can't have the troops stressing and worrying about the hard challenges at paw. A good startup CEO will absorb the stress, so the balance of the squad tin carry on. He also needs to be able to mask this pain and stress. Non that he should hide or prevarication to the team- I'k non encouraging that. Virtually of the 24-hour interval to day nuances+stresses of a startup aren't worth having the entire team worry about and the CEO needs to bear that pain. A startup CEO has a peachy knack for finding talent. The fundamental is finding people that are smarter than you lot on specific topics. It might be technical team members/leaders or it might be a new VP of Biz Dev. A startup CEO has to have the power to find these people and make relatively fast decisions to hire them. They also have to be able to show the fire and passion to convince them to leave what is most likely a meliorate paying and more secure job to join the company. The real key to hiring equally a startup CEO comes after the hire. A great startup CEO will exist able to trust the hires that they brand and defer to them on areas of domain expertise. Information technology's hard to let go, only you have to learn to, specially when the company grows. Whether yous want to believe information technology or not, you are non an investor's simply portfolio visitor. Fifty-fifty if you lot are a superstar, they take a scattering of other companies to help and a ton of incoming potential portfolio companies. A good investor will pick 2-3 new companies per year to work with. A skilful startup CEO volition exist a skilful link betwixt progress, issues, and areas where they need assist with investors. A good portion of early stage startups that raise coin will have a board comprised of three people: the CEO founder, the investor, and an independent lath member. You are the alone representative for your cofounder and other employees. I accept this unwavering conventionalities that the best companies are those that go on a founder as CEO for the long haul. Non because the founders have the right to be CEO, but considering the CEO needs to be close to the product vision of the company. Founding CEOs empathize this the all-time and can carry out that aforementioned unified vision over time. To fill up in the management gaps a great COO, other board members, and heads of divisions will come along. It's a strategy that Facebook has employed and why Apple tree has had a bang-up resurgence with Steve Jobs at the helm. It'southward all about keeping the CEO equally shut every bit possibly linked to the product. Most startup CEOs didn't start out with an MBA or some background in growing a company from nothing to something. The best have an power to learn along the mode and comprehend their failures to become a better leader. Zuck started when he was 19 and now seven years later on, runs the near powerful internet company. Don't worry virtually whether "you're qualified" as it's difficult to put typical qualifications on the task. You'll acquire the really core stuff along the way. The best startup CEOs will surround themselves with smart mentors to be a sounding board along the mode. It's well-nigh better to accept a blank slate of zero feel as a startup CEO. If you come up in with preconceived notions and cake out the scrappy methods of a startup founder, it actually hurts you. Traditional education oft trains you to exist CEO or managing director for a much larger company, not for a startup of under 50 people. It's a different kind of leadership and company. You will be inundated with a listing of requests from potential partners, investors, employees, and more. They will all sound admittedly wonderful. As you abound, you will also have the resources to execute more of them. Don't. Information technology's easy to say yes, but and so very hard to say no. By having an uncanny ability to say no, you can keep your visitor on rails with the large vision yous maintain. It volition also keep your squad members (discover I don't like to use the word "employees") laser focused and feel more rewarded as they are able to focus on one affair for a skillful clamper of time. I've seen too many startups sink because the CEO keeps irresolute what the caput of product and engineering should exist doing. A good startup CEO shouldn't exist afraid of a little scrap of code and a text editor. They don't need to be diving into the source code on a daily footing, but they demand to understand the technical requirements. Information technology's easy to say "go build this", simply it's a whole other ball game to understand how to build it. What seems simple may exist a huge mountain of a technical feat that just isn't feasible with the given resource and deadlines. It tin can besides help lend some street cred with hiring early on technical team members too. Retrieve that huge unwavering vision that you are the keeper of? Odds are it simply makes sense to yous and your cofounder. Yous volition need to break information technology upwards into sizable chunks and milestones for the rest of the team to empathize it. You likewise need to be able to pick when and where to conquer things strategically. What is the by of least resistance then you can gain traction? What can you do first with your given resources? Zippo goes co-ordinate to plan. Things fall through, people quit, shit happens, servers crash, and other random things get crash-land in the night. Y'all're going to have to bargain with it and fast. This is a football term: "Seen when the quarterback goes up to the line of scrimmage, sees a defensive alignment he wasn't expecting, and adjusts past yelling out a new play." You're going to come up up against things that y'all didn't look and just exist able to call an aural. Launch faster, spend more money here, or even carelessness a project. People dearest to talk in this business. People love to talk even more when you're visitor isn't fairing well. A smashing CEO volition be able to accept those moments of public despair and keep the company focused. They will be able to debunk the rumors or fifty-fifty approach them head on by keeping the members of the company focused on the bigger mission at hand. It tin come in uncomplicated 5 infinitesimal talks or motivational emails. The worst thing you can do is avoid the situation and be passive ambitious. I echo: DO Not WUSS OUT. You lot need to be able to portray the free energy and passion that you feel into others...over and over and over and over and over and over again on a daily ground. Equally a startup founder you need to communicate the vision and promise for the hereafter of your startup to the rest of the earth. Yous demand to be able to break down the overall vision of the company into something that mere mortals can empathise. You can't speak in crazy technical jargon or manufacture terms. It needs to be simple, clear, and compelling. You also need to be able to contend your indicate. Many will pick "fights" with you just to meet how strong willed you are. Exist respectful, just be very confident in your answer. Often incorrect, but never in doubtfulness my friend. Mark Pincus, CEO of Zynga, makes a potent case for not being a fake ceo. In curt, worry about things that produce results, not fame. If it's between going to a conference/doing an interview or completing a deal, get the deal done. Don't "leave it to someone else". You lot demand to become your hands dingy every unmarried day. By no means is this an exhaustive or definitive list. In some cases, the traits listed above might exist counter-intuitive. What are some traits y'all've seen in corking founding startup CEOs? Not the glamorous job you thought it was, eh? You Should Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jasonlbaptiste, Friend me on Facebook: http://world wide web.facebook.com/jasonlbaptiste, Email Me: jbaptiste@onstartups.com, or even call: 201.305.0552
Everyone thinks that beingness a startup CEO is a glamorous job or ane that has to be a ton of fun. That's what I now refer to every bit the "glamour brain" speaking aka the startup life you hear virtually from the press. You know the press articles I'thou talking nearly... the ones that talk almost how easy information technology is to raise money, how many users the company is getting, and how cracking it is to be CEO. Very rarely practise y'all hear near what a bitch it is to be CEO and how information technology'south non for every founder that wants to be an entrepreneur. I've spent a lot of time recently thinking about what it takes to be a great Startup CEO that is also a founder. Here are some of the traits I've establish. Be A Keeper Of The Company Vision
Absorb The Pain For The Team
Notice The Smartest People And Defer On Domain Expertise
Be A Proficient Link Between The Visitor + Investors
Be A Good Link Betwixt The Company + Product
Be Able To Learn On The Job
No Experience Almost Preferred
Have An Uncanny Power To Say No
Have Some Technical Knowledge And Skillset
Be Able To Break Things Downward Into Sizable Chunks + Milestones
Accept The Ability To Telephone call An Aural
Tin can Motivate The Squad Through Despair
Be A Slap-up Communicator
Don't Be A "Fake CEO"
Source: https://www.onstartups.com/tabid/3339/bid/34321/14-Ways-To-Be-A-Great-Startup-CEO.aspx
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