The Chief Executive Officer is one of the most intriguing titles of a company, yet it's often the least understood and ambiguous job in a business of any size. As a startup gains traction and grows, the CEO's day-to-day will change dramatically but there are a few core elements which will always remain the same.
When you start a company, the single most important task of the CEO is to build a product or service that solves a problem. At this stage, the startup's CEO is the Doer-in-Chief. This individual must be deeply involved in talking to customers and building something that people will pay for. This is when being a jack of all trades is incredible valuable. Delegation should not (yet) be considered at this stage.
As you start to gain traction and grow beyond just the founders, you need to transition from “Doer-in-Chief” to “Company-Builder-in-Chief.” Your first creation is a product or service people will pay for, and your second creation is a company! Through mentorship and close observation of high performing CEOs, at each stage of growth, there are three "jobs" that every Startup CEO must excel at:
1) Set the Vision, Strategy, and Direction of the Company
The CEO's primary job is to set the vision of the company and the milestones required to realize that vision. What is the Big Hairy Audacious Goal for the business? What impact will the company have on the industry in 10 years? What are the 1 year, 3 year, and 5 year milestones required to reach the company's ambitious goals for the future?
These are all questions that the founding team and CEO in particular need to focus on. A good CEO will be able to clearly articulate the company's vision. A great CEO will be able to define what success looks like and execute on the strategy and resources required to get there. Highly experienced CEO's are able to forecast market dynamics and map out a plan that is both aggressive and flexible to adapt to unexpected changes along the journey.
“Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.” ― Bill Gates
2) Recruit a World-Class Team, Set Culture
Once the company gains traction, it's the CEO's job to transition from being the doer-in-Chief to the company builder. This means recruiting the best people in the world who can execute on the vision and strategy of the company. This includes building a company culture that is attractive to join and empowers the team to scale the business.
This phase of delegation is very challenging for startup CEO's but it can be the most important process for the company's growth. The leader of the organization needs to safeguard their time for high leverage tasks that only the CEO can do. This year we'll grow my company from 5 to 10 team members, and the process of creating our culture and recruiting a world-class team is proving to be the most high leverage use of my time.
You obviously can’t delegate everything overnight, but your job is to eventually replace the tasks you have grown accustomed to doing by hiring people better than you into leadership positions and fill the voids of the company so you can scale. The CEO sets the tone. Every action—or inaction—sends cultural messages to the team which is why establishing the company culture early and recruiting a world-class team that fits this culture is so important.
By The Way: I'm hiring
3) Put Money in the Bank
In order to set the vision and recruit a world-class team, there must be money to keep the lights on. Cash is king. Without cash, there is no business! The CEO sets the budget for the company and determines how much funding the firm will need to reach the next set of milestones and not run out of money.
There are two primary ways the CEO can put money in the bank: 1) Drive revenue from existing customers or get new customers, 2) Raise funding from private investors or financial institutions. After gaining initial market traction, some businesses will raise outside capital and operate at a loss initially in the hope of breaking even at some point in the future.
It's the CEO's job to determine the best method for the firm to fund projects which support the company's strategy, and ramp down projects which lose money or don’t support the strategy. Some CEOs don’t consider themselves financial people, but at the end of the day, it is their decisions that determine the company’s financial fate.
See Also: 10 Reasons to Invest in MySwimPro
There is no perfect job description for the CEO of a startup. By its very nature, the role of a CEO means meeting the needs of employees, customers, investors, communities, and the law. At a high level the most important job of a startup CEO is to set the strategy and vision, recruit a world-class team, build company culture, and allocate capital.
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Fares Ksebati is a tech-entrepreneur, mastersswimmer, triathlete and coach. He is the CEO ofMySwimPro- the #1 application that helps swimmersaround the world improve their performance and health. MySwimPro was named by Apple as the best Watch App of the Year. Followhis journey of building a tech-startup on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram at@FaresKsebati.
