Comments on: A Difficult Decision For First Time Founders http://www.highway12ventures.com/2009/10/26/founders-start-looking-for-your-replacement/ A Pioneering Spirit Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:25:27 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7.1 hourly 1 By: mbsolon http://www.highway12ventures.com/2009/10/26/founders-start-looking-for-your-replacement/comment-page-1/#comment-4460 mbsolon Tue, 12 Jan 2010 04:20:24 +0000 http://www.highway12ventures.com/?p=1461#comment-4460 All important points Les. Thanks for weighing in! All important points Les. Thanks for weighing in!

]]> By: Les Trachtman http://www.highway12ventures.com/2009/10/26/founders-start-looking-for-your-replacement/comment-page-1/#comment-4458 Les Trachtman Sat, 09 Jan 2010 13:41:21 +0000 http://www.highway12ventures.com/?p=1461#comment-4458 Mark - As an executive who replaced founders four times I look at the founders transition issue from the other side. I agree completely that bad outside CEO hires can be worse than a founder who is not prepared to manage, grow and scale their own venture. My experience has shown that a mature view of how to manage the transition from both the founder and the replacement CEO is key to making these things work. Cold turkey transitions where everything changes all at once is just as bad as ploddingly slow transitions where the founder handcuffs the new CEO with his/her established norms. Getting the chemistry and perhaps more importantly the "contract" (not the written one but the actual agreement on how the founder and outside CEO will interact) and knowing what decisions will be made by the new CEO rather than the founder (and vice versa) IN ADVANCE, is the best medicine I have found for a successful transition. Mark - As an executive who replaced founders four times I look at the founders transition issue from the other side. I agree completely that bad outside CEO hires can be worse than a founder who is not prepared to manage, grow and scale their own venture. My experience has shown that a mature view of how to manage the transition from both the founder and the replacement CEO is key to making these things work. Cold turkey transitions where everything changes all at once is just as bad as ploddingly slow transitions where the founder handcuffs the new CEO with his/her established norms. Getting the chemistry and perhaps more importantly the "contract" (not the written one but the actual agreement on how the founder and outside CEO will interact) and knowing what decisions will be made by the new CEO rather than the founder (and vice versa) IN ADVANCE, is the best medicine I have found for a successful transition.

]]> By: Mark Solon http://www.highway12ventures.com/2009/10/26/founders-start-looking-for-your-replacement/comment-page-1/#comment-4308 Mark Solon Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:47:59 +0000 http://www.highway12ventures.com/?p=1461#comment-4308 Like all partnerships it depends upon the relationship Jimmy. If there's mutual respect and a real understanding by each partner that it's not always going to be smooth sailing (conversely, you'll often be in 30 foot swells), and you're both willing and able to disagree with civility and respect, then there's nothing better than having a partner. However, without those dynamics, it's probably doomed from the start. I've been around alot of these and would be happy to get on the phone and talk about this in more depth if you're interested. Like all partnerships it depends upon the relationship Jimmy. If there's mutual respect and a real understanding by each partner that it's not always going to be smooth sailing (conversely, you'll often be in 30 foot swells), and you're both willing and able to disagree with civility and respect, then there's nothing better than having a partner. However, without those dynamics, it's probably doomed from the start. I've been around alot of these and would be happy to get on the phone and talk about this in more depth if you're interested.

]]> By: Jimmy Hendricks http://www.highway12ventures.com/2009/10/26/founders-start-looking-for-your-replacement/comment-page-1/#comment-4307 Jimmy Hendricks Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:17:29 +0000 http://www.highway12ventures.com/?p=1461#comment-4307 Mark - Great post. As a first time founder I think about this stuff a lot. One thing that has helped us is i have a co-founder that has complimentary skills. What have you seen as far as first time founder's success when they have a partner vs when they lead the team alone? Mark - Great post.

As a first time founder I think about this stuff a lot. One thing that has helped us is i have a co-founder that has complimentary skills.

What have you seen as far as first time founder's success when they have a partner vs when they lead the team alone?

]]> By: Mark Solon http://www.highway12ventures.com/2009/10/26/founders-start-looking-for-your-replacement/comment-page-1/#comment-4296 Mark Solon Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:14:33 +0000 http://www.highway12ventures.com/?p=1461#comment-4296 Good question Matt, hard to quantify. Some good yardstick would be when operations begin slipping, too much focus is placed on engineering and not enough on sales (very common), or when product development suffers as the Founder/CEO is overwhelmed with the business side of the business. I think the role of "Founder" winds up being a cancer. The Founder winds up feeling lost and folks in the organization wind up resenting the "Founder" for not contributing. There's got to be a place in the organization where the Founder makes a real contribution in a traditional role such as CTO or VP Engineering. Keeping Founders around just because they're Founders is a disaster waiting to happen... Good question Matt, hard to quantify. Some good yardstick would be when operations begin slipping, too much focus is placed on engineering and not enough on sales (very common), or when product development suffers as the Founder/CEO is overwhelmed with the business side of the business.

I think the role of "Founder" winds up being a cancer. The Founder winds up feeling lost and folks in the organization wind up resenting the "Founder" for not contributing. There's got to be a place in the organization where the Founder makes a real contribution in a traditional role such as CTO or VP Engineering. Keeping Founders around just because they're Founders is a disaster waiting to happen…

]]> By: MattCope http://www.highway12ventures.com/2009/10/26/founders-start-looking-for-your-replacement/comment-page-1/#comment-4295 MattCope Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:06:28 +0000 http://www.highway12ventures.com/?p=1461#comment-4295 Mark - good use of the library for this post. How often do founders hold the reigns too long because of psyche - e.g., "This company is my baby" ? And to what extent do you think carving out a 'Founder' role, separate from the CEO role, helps manage this? Mark - good use of the library for this post.

How often do founders hold the reigns too long because of psyche - e.g., "This company is my baby" ?

And to what extent do you think carving out a 'Founder' role, separate from the CEO role, helps manage this?

]]> By: Mark Solon http://www.highway12ventures.com/2009/10/26/founders-start-looking-for-your-replacement/comment-page-1/#comment-4268 Mark Solon Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:19:39 +0000 http://www.highway12ventures.com/?p=1461#comment-4268 Thanks for weighing in and I couldn't agree with you more Dennis. That's specifically why I mentioned the idea of getting a few advisors who are potential CEOs, it's a wonderful way to see how you work together. Thanks for weighing in and I couldn't agree with you more Dennis. That's specifically why I mentioned the idea of getting a few advisors who are potential CEOs, it's a wonderful way to see how you work together.

]]> By: Dennis Kaill http://www.highway12ventures.com/2009/10/26/founders-start-looking-for-your-replacement/comment-page-1/#comment-4267 Dennis Kaill Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:09:02 +0000 http://www.highway12ventures.com/?p=1461#comment-4267 Hi Mark- Great column, and I totally agree. Having said that, I am not sure which is worse-watching a founder struggle beyond the natural transition point, or watching a bad hire CEO turn the founders company into a smoking hole in the ground. Out of all of the factors you mentioned (proven ability to scale a company, bandwidth, etc) it seems the one that is most responsible for poor results in poor chemistry and/or lack of trust. And it is the softest skill, the hardest to measure. Even if someone looks great on paper and the board 'loves this guy', I would advocate as much 'try before you buy' as possible. Hi Mark-
Great column, and I totally agree. Having said that, I am not sure which is worse-watching a founder struggle beyond the natural transition point, or watching a bad hire CEO turn the founders company into a smoking hole in the ground. Out of all of the factors you mentioned (proven ability to scale a company, bandwidth, etc) it seems the one that is most responsible for poor results in poor chemistry and/or lack of trust. And it is the softest skill, the hardest to measure. Even if someone looks great on paper and the board 'loves this guy', I would advocate as much 'try before you buy' as possible.

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