The biggest fear you’re likely to have as a startup CEO is that your investors will fire you and hire an experienced CEO. The reality is that being fired is usually 100% in your control.
I’ll explain, through the stories of two CEOs I know that did get fired, how you can greatly reduce the chances of being fired.
Why should you get fired as CEO?
I was working with a CEO named “Jack” for the past few years. Jack’s startup was on fire. They had a very motivated and talented team, a great set of products, and revenue was growing nicely, or so it seemed.
Better yet, Jack’s company had just closed its latest round of funding. Now they had plenty of money to help accelerate their growth.
Then, in a heartbeat, it was over. Jack told me during our monthly update call that he had been fired by his board of directors that morning. I asked Jack what happened, and he said, “The board has accused me of misstating our revenue.”
Jack and I continued talking. I’m going to simplify our conversation, but the reality is that, in my opinion, Jack did indeed mislead his new investors. I believe, based on what Jack told me, that Jack’s board and investors had no choice but to fire him.
