“How do you think Maxim (Integrated Products) will react when you resign?” I asked Jeroen. We had just signed a $12 million term sheet for our initial funding, and Jeroen and I had agreed that now was the time for him to resign and become our full time Vice President of Engineering.
“I don’t know,” Jeroen said.
“I’ll tell you exactly how they’re going to react because I worked there (for over ten years),” I said. “They’re going to do everything in their power to keep you.”
Jeroen’s joining our company was critical to any success we expected to have. In fact, let me go one step further. There would be no funding if Jeroen backed out at the last second because our investors would, rightfully, back out. It’s difficult to have a technology startup without a VP Engineer or CTO to lead your technology team.
It’s on you, the hiring CEO, to make sure anyone you recruit doesn’t back out.
Jeroen resigned the next day. And, not surprisingly, Maxim’s management put a full court press on to keep Jeroen. I checked in with Jeroen every day for the length of his two week notice.
I asked Jeroen how things were going at Maxim, and Jeroen told me everything they did. It was quite impressive…
