Quora Answer: How Long Should a Founder Remain CEO?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “How long should a founder remain CEO?” 

There is no answer that applies to every founder.  There are two kinds of founders.  Most of them are people with a singular idea, and build a company around that idea to raise funds to scale it.  The second type is like the first, except for the fact that he has management experience.  It is the second type of founder who would make an effective chief executive.  The first kind has to learn on the job. 

When a startup is pitching for funding, the founders have to take those roles regardless, because there is no budget for a professional executive team anyway.  There are times when an investor would stipulate that as part of the finding package, they would have a preferred candidate as chief executive or put it in the contract that the startup hire a professional.  This normally happens in the later funding stages.  The founders may be experts in the operations aspect of the business, but they still need an experienced hand in managing the growing team.  This chief executive reports to the board, in any case, meaning he still reports to the founders. 

Regardless of experience, it is generally advisable that founders eventually relinquish day to day management of the business to a professional c-suite, and stay at board level.  Their role is to grow the business, and be part of the conversation that shapes the strategic direction of the business.  If they are successful in getting sufficient funding to scale, they need to focus on this, and they cannot do this if they are managing the daily operations of the business.