What are the three key duties of a startup CEO
“As CEO, you recruit,” the recruiter told me during my first interview for a company CEO position. “As CEO, you sell, sell, sell,” the recruiter said later.
Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful in my application.
I then went on to start my own firm, of which I am now the CEO. I then went on to say what I had done.
Then there’s the recruiting, the recruiting, the recruiting… and the selling, selling, selling…
Every day was filled with recruiting and selling. As the CEO of a company, you’re always hiring and selling:
As a team leader, you’re on the lookout for new staff.
Your goal is to persuade new workers to join your organization, and you must do it in a professional manner.
Customers, business partners, and investors are being sold on your firm while you are selling your product or service online.
Additional than sales, you as the CEO (whether you are technically savvy or not) have a variety of other tasks.
You must keep abreast of the advancements in your items’ technology.
What matters is that you remain informed about the progress your team is making regardless of whether you are an engineer. If the specifications do not change, and if you are on schedule, this is important information to know.
In addition, you will have to confront your team if they tell you that something cannot be done or that the timeline must be pushed back further in time. How are you planning on doing this if you aren’t participating?
It is necessary for you to make preparations for the introduction of your items in the market.
Which marketing strategies would you use to get your product known to your customers? Your participation in the marketing strategy, as well as the channel selections you and your team make, will be required.
In the case of a tangible product, you will need to manufacture your own prototypes.
Product development is not a simple task. Your supplier agreements must be completed as quickly as possible. Components have been identified that you will need to purchase.
In addition, you may need the rental or purchase of certain pieces of equipment. The equipment will have to be purchased by you and your operations vice president (if you have one).
In addition to that, you’ll need to assess the performance of your product.
Before shipping your product, you must ensure that you have all of the necessary equipment and employees to ensure that it fulfills your quality requirements.
Additionally, a customer service department will be required.
It is likely that your clients may need customer service (technical and purchasing). Customer service and application development teams will also need to be established and trained.
All of these activities are unlikely to be completed entirely by you. You will, however, be engaged in each and every one of these responsibilities.
Your firm is spreading the word about itself to everyone.
It is necessary to market your firm to a large number of individuals on a daily basis. These individuals are also crucial to your organization:
There are investors that have already invested in your company.
Your progress must be documented and shared with them. It’s important to remember the golden rule: never take your investors completely by surprise. You also have the possibility of attracting future investors. The possibility of receiving more financing exists, and you must plan for it. And… you’ve got some clients.
The CEO will be the most effective salesman your firm has; this is particularly true in the early stages of your company’s development. And… you’ve got your suppliers. So, what makes you think that big vendor will want to cooperate with your tiny business? To be clear, you must persuade people as to the value of the work that your organization is doing. Along with that, you’ll act as your organization’s CRO (Chief Recruiting Officer).
When it comes to establishing a firm, nothing is more vital than attracting top-tier personnel. A significant amount of your time will be spent recruiting (if you aren’t, you’re doing something wrong!) then there’s more….
Furthermore, you must sell your team. Despite the fact that you have a fantastic staff, keeping them in the dark is just not an option. In order to keep that fantastic staff engaged, you must be truthful and open with them.
When it comes to running a start-up, what are the three most important things a CEO should accomplish are
1.Roadmap
2.Responsibilities in the Human Resource Department
3.Resource Allocations in the Capital Budget
No amount of convincing will ever persuade me that the most successful firms are the product of a CEO who is completely devoted to and outstanding at something else.
However, despite all of the pragmatic advice (customers and revenue; developing something; validating; testing; and so on), the involvement of investors in companies seems to be driven by teams of THREE founders, rather than two.
To be clear, I am not implying that there are always three founders… and, in fact, many of the most well-known successful companies are noted for having just two or even one founder. In my opinion, the most remarkable teams are those that investors are interested in investing in (whether you agree with the concept of seeking investment or not, we always perceive more significant tech businesses through the lens of those who have investors).
The question is, what skills and abilities does such a group need.
Construction of a brand-new structure
It’s on the market
Being aware of what is happening in the market and making plans to handle it
Recently, I relocated from the startup scene in Silicon Valley to the one in Austin.
It seems to me that I haven’t fully developed my argument concerning the three founders… Hold on for a second.
In terms of startup ecosystems, the most noticeable distinction between Silicon Valley and Austin is that one location prefers one of those things over the other. When compared to the other, one prefers the other.
Many of us in the venture capital development industry are sure that this differential ALONE is responsible for the emergence of firms with varying speed, scale, and attractiveness.
The third bullet is preferred by Silicon Valley above the second bullet, and
With the second bullet, Austin prefers it over the third.
What do you think I’m talking about? To an almost uncanny degree, Silicon Valley firms are preoccupied with their customers. A market share is a percentage of a market’s total market revenue. Increasing the number of people who see you and your work Marketing. In our economy, it is for this reason that we have undertone criticism. Why are Silicon Valley firms valued so highly when they don’t have any consumers, one could wonder.
Yeah. Know why I’m saying this? Because every firm that brings a million customers in the door can monetize them in some way, and any business that brings in a million customers may be purchased so that someone else can figure out what to do with the money. Despite the fact that the comment is a lighthearted dig at Silicon Valley, anybody with half a brain would kill to be the owner of such establishment.
When it comes to bars, the ones that fail to provide any significant value for everyone involved are the ones that have a small number of dedicated customers who come back every Thursday for Karaoke. Though “succeeding,” the bar is in danger of closing its doors when its owner retires or dies, unless someone buys it for pennies on the dollar and turns it into a new establishment.
Making a million people come through the door and then selling to them is the objective of this market.
Customers, sales, and money are prioritized by Austin entrepreneurs (maybe to an excessive degree). It’s for sale. Even in our own backyard, we are often unaware of the market (competitors, etc.).
A variety of factors contribute to this. It is said that since Silicon Valley was established long before the Lean Startup ideals of promoting customer validation, the notions of customers and validation have a greater effect on the younger startup marketplaces.
It is more common in the Valley to have marketing expertise based on online mediums, but it is less common in other parts of the country. Alternatively, it’s possible that entrepreneurs in Austin simply don’t have as much seasoned and major venture capital as they would want, causing them to pursue revenues more aggressively… Who knows, we’re not going to go into the specifics of that topic right now.
To be more specific, what those founding teams (and, thus, the CEO) accomplish may be used to determine the differences across the areas.
The Rule of Austin: Make Something Before You Sell It
Know your market and build what it wants in Silicon Valley.
That information may be used to determine what the CEO’s responsibilities are.
Consider the fact that marketing and development are two VERY important skill sets that need separate training and experience to achieve success in.
The majority of individuals are unable to do true marketing (despite the fact that they feel they are or consider their Adwords campaign to be marketing), just as the majority of people are unable to just sit at a computer and program.
Consequently, Silicon Valley’s staff is made of that really experienced and focused Marketing function, the inventive technological genius, and a CEO who has been tasked with the task of… SELL IT.
Instead, the Austin team gets the Technical genius, and then the CEO (if they are not already that) is also focused on selling, but with marketing as an afterthought, the CEO is typically not selling to actual customers or understanding what customers want – they are aggressively selling to existing customers. Seeking confirmation of my ideas as well as financial gain
So, who would be on the startup’s ideal team? The following is true whether there are three founders or not (for example, a first hire).
Director of marketing and technology CEO, CMO, and CTO
A CEO leading such an accomplished group will step aside to let those who know how to create a firm to do their jobs. Although the CEO of a successful startup is selling the company, he or she is not selling the product; rather, he or she is selling the company’s future vision. They are increasing demand for what is being done in order to provide the CTO and CMO with the resources they need to be successful.
Consider a few of the well-known technology CEOs and founders who spring to mind right away. Some were/are engineers, to be sure; nevertheless, every single one of them – from Musk to Gates to Zuckerberg to Page/Brin and everyone in between – makes people WANT what they are doing. Instead of marketing or guiding growth, those executives create an environment in which people want to work for and finance that organization, and they serve as a north star to guide everyone in the process of figuring out how to get there and inspiring everyone else in the goal of getting there.