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“Do you think I would be better off stepping down as CEO?” “Wayne”, a CEO I’m working with, said to me. “My investors are offering to make me Executive Chairman or CTO. Maybe I should take the offer?”
“I think it’s a huge mistake for you to step down,” I said. “I know there are a lot of problems the company has, and I know you’ve got to get better as CEO, but I think if you step down, the company will fail.”
“Why do feel that way?” Wayne asked me.
Since before I started working with Wayne, his investors were trying to get him to resign as CEO. They felt, correctly, that he wasn’t doing a good job as CEO, but trying to push him out was the wrong move.
Founding CEO advantage number one: You’re not going to find someone better than you to run your startup, especially if you’re an early stage startup.
“Who are they (your investors) going to find that’s better than you?” I asked. “Seriously, your revenue isn’t even $1 million per year. There’s no way an experienced CEO is going to be interested in joining you.”
“Did you take a look at the candidates?” Wayne asked me. Wayne had sent me the list of candidates his investors were considering.
