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What No One Tells You About Being A Startup CEO
I thought I was really prepared to be a startup CEO. After all, I’d run and grown several different businesses to well over $100 million in ARR.
I’d been an Entrepreneur in Residence for a San Francisco based Venture Capital fund. I thought I knew what it took to be a startup CEO.
Yet, I was still surprised by many things I encountered as a first time CEO. I’ll share with you the ten most important things that I wish I knew before I became a startup CEO.
Let’s get started. And let’s start with number one.
1. Every word you speak matters.
Congratulations. I don’t know whether you realized it, but you are now an actor. Your stage is your office. Let me give you an example.
I was in my office late one Friday afternoon. We had our company meeting lunchtime earlier in the day. Jeroen, our VP Engineering walked into my office. He said, “One of my guys was worried because you frowned when you answered the question about revenue.”
“I frowned?” I said. “I don’t remember frowning.”
“Yes, he thought you frowned. And so he thought things were really bad.”
I was laughing at this point. But this anecdote just shows you how everything you say, everything…
