🪴 What does it mean to be a CEO vs. a Founder?
The Real Deal on Being a Startup CEO
Being a startup founder means wearing multiple hats and constantly shifting priorities. But what exactly does your role as "CEO" entail? And how does it differ from simply being a founder? Let's cut through the noise and get to the three things you need to master.
Founder vs. CEO: Two Different Mindsets
First, let's establish something important—being a founder and being a CEO are not the same thing, though they often start as the same person. For a period of time, you may eve vacillate between what feels more “founder” and what feels like “CEO” duties.
🌱 The Founder is the initiator who identifies an opportunity and takes action. You're the one who built the first version, convinced early adopters, and validated the concept. You created something from nothing through sheer will, technical skill, and/or market insight.
🪴 The CEO, however, is a specific leadership role focused on execution and scale. While founders create companies, CEOs build organizations that outlast individuals. As your startup grows, you need to evolve from "the person with the idea" to "the builder of a sustainable organization."
The reality? As a founder-CEO, you're responsible for this evolution—transitioning from entrepreneur to executive while turning your company from concept to institution.
What a CEO Actually Does: The Core Responsibilities
In his post "What A CEO Does," Fred Wilson shares this advice from a veteran VC:
A CEO does only three things. Sets the overall vision and strategy of the company and communicates it to all stakeholders. Recruits, hires and retains the very best talent for the company. Makes sure there's always enough cash in the bank.
This framework cuts through the ambiguity of the CEO's job. Let's break down each component:
1) Set the Vision and Strategy
'The future is already here — it's just not very evenly distributed.' — William Gibson
A clear vision aligns your team and guides decision-making at all levels. But let's be practical about what vision really is:
A vision is a realistic story about the future, based on a logical extrapolation of the present
Seeing things as they actually are—not as you wish them to be—requires discipline and perspective. WHILE, holding the future state firmly on the horizon line. This is why effective CEOs step back from operations regularly to look at the full chessboard from a birds eye view, seek diverse viewpoints, and must develop keen self-management skills.
Your ability to articulate this vision matters. In "Hypergrowth and The Law of Startup Physics," Khalid Halim shares that while companies outgrow people's technical skills, founders adapt because storytelling scales:
[It's] the one thing humans can do that is exponential: thought, which extended turns into story or vision
As CEO, communication is part of your job. If you're not naturally good at it, it is imperative to develop this skill deliberately.
2) Build the Team
'It takes a village to raise a child.' — Proverb
Your primary responsibility is assembling and developing a high-performing leadership team. The goal is straightforward: hire people better than you, then help them succeed.
Building your team includes two often-avoided responsibilities:
Making tough personnel decisions - Removing people who aren't performing or aren't the right fit. Nobody enjoys this, but delay hurts everyone. (Hire slow, fire fast!)
Cultivating your external network - Advisors, industry experts, potential investors, and strategic partners form an "extended team" that provides leverage beyond your org chart.
3) Manage Cash Flow
'Cash is to a business as oxygen is to an individual: never thought about when it is present, the only thing in mind when it is absent.' — Warren Buffet
Cash flow management has three practical components:
Fundraising - Investor relations consume significant CEO time because investors expect direct access to the CEO.
Revenue generation - Closing strategic sales or partnerships that materially impact your top line often requires your involvement. Complete delegation of this function is rarely possible in early stages.
Cost control - After raising capital, there's pressure to deploy it quickly. Monitor your burn rate closely and be prepared to make necessary cuts before they become emergencies.
The Founder-to-CEO Transition: What Changes
As founders evolve into CEOs, they undergo several critical shifts:
From Doing to Leading - Stop being the primary doer and start being the primary enabler
From Control to Trust - Build systems and teams you can trust rather than checking everything personally for quality control
From Expertise to Learning - Shift from being the domain expert to becoming adept at learning new domains constnatly (including shifting leadership skills!)
From Problem-Solving to Problem-Framing - Move from solving problems yourself to helping others define problems worth solving
Effective founder-CEOs maintain their entrepreneurial drive while developing executive discipline. They combine the founder's conviction with the CEO's strategic perspective. This parallel life lasts for some time in startup land— it’s normal and ok.
Getting Shit Done as CEO
When you have more responsibilities than time, you must:
Delegate aggressively - As Jeff Seibert advises: "Look at where you're spending your time and fire yourself from that position." Perform the role, then hire someone better.
Prioritize ruthlessly - When resources are tight, focus only on what moves the needle. The urgent will always compete with the important—choose the important.
Create systems - Build processes that handle routine decisions without your involvement.
Protect your capacity - Maintain your ability to think clearly by managing your energy and focus. The company can't afford a burned-out CEO.
The Bottom Line on Being CEO
The CEO role is demanding, complex, and sometimes thankless. But it's also straightforward if you focus on what matters: vision, people, and cash flow.
Is your strategy clear to everyone? Have you assembled the right team to execute it? Do they have the resources they need to win? If not, those are your priorities.
Anyone can become a founder by starting something. Becoming an effective CEO requires systematic execution, relentless focus, and continuous adaptation. The best founder-CEOs leverage their founding insights while developing the leadership capabilities to make those insights reality.
Now, let’s get to work my friend.
As always, rooting for you 🙌, SK
