3 ms·

Saving Face(book): When do you hire a pro CEO?

5 points by transburgh 19y ago

Xichekolas 19y ago
When you go public.
pg 19y ago
Could a "pro" CEO have gotten Facebook to where it is now? Very unlikely. So what evidence do we have that this is the point (or that there is any point short of being GE) where an outside CEO would start to do better?
- ivankirigin 19y ago
  Generally, what do you think about founders stepping aside to let others act as CEO? I would imagine you're heavily biased towards founders. VCs seem to disagree. What do you think about that, and are really good VCs closer to your opinion?
  - pg 19y ago
    Founders usually make the best CEOs unless (a) they're really nuts or (b) they don't want to be CEO anymore. Opinion among later stage investors is definitely moving toward that. The top-ranked VC firms get this (and practically everything else about startups) more than the ones further down the food chain. Incidentally, I wouldn't say I'm biased toward founders. YC is an investor in these startups just like VCs are. If the company does badly because of bad management, we suffer too. My opinions about founder CEOs are based on experience.
    - ivankirigin 19y ago
      By "bias", I only meant that all things being equal, you would guess a founder would make a better CEO.
- tx 19y ago
  Who is a CEO anyway? I have talked to a few business guys and answers varied from "salesman in chief" to "just an administrator with connections". In that regard there is really nothing to hold on to if you are a product guy. The article implies that CEO is the "product guy" though. I wonder who is right.
  - pg 19y ago
    A CEO is, in theory, what the name implies: chief executive. He makes the final decisions. If two subordinates disagree, he breaks ties. That said, I don't think Eric Schmidt is actually Larry & Sergey's boss. They seem to work more as a triumvirate. But that is a fairly unusual arrangement. I believe it's a transitional phase between outside management coming in as CEO and coming in as COO, which I believe is going to be the most common plan in the future.

5 points by transburgh 19y ago

When you go public.

pg 19y ago

Could a "pro" CEO have gotten Facebook to where it is now? Very unlikely. So what evidence do we have that this is the point (or that there is any point short of being GE) where an outside CEO would start to do better?

ivankirigin 19y ago
Generally, what do you think about founders stepping aside to let others act as CEO? I would imagine you're heavily biased towards founders. VCs seem to disagree. What do you think about that, and are really good VCs closer to your opinion?
- pg 19y ago
  Founders usually make the best CEOs unless (a) they're really nuts or (b) they don't want to be CEO anymore. Opinion among later stage investors is definitely moving toward that. The top-ranked VC firms get this (and practically everything else about startups) more than the ones further down the food chain. Incidentally, I wouldn't say I'm biased toward founders. YC is an investor in these startups just like VCs are. If the company does badly because of bad management, we suffer too. My opinions about founder CEOs are based on experience.
  - ivankirigin 19y ago
    By "bias", I only meant that all things being equal, you would guess a founder would make a better CEO.
tx 19y ago
Who is a CEO anyway? I have talked to a few business guys and answers varied from "salesman in chief" to "just an administrator with connections". In that regard there is really nothing to hold on to if you are a product guy. The article implies that CEO is the "product guy" though. I wonder who is right.
- pg 19y ago
  A CEO is, in theory, what the name implies: chief executive. He makes the final decisions. If two subordinates disagree, he breaks ties. That said, I don't think Eric Schmidt is actually Larry & Sergey's boss. They seem to work more as a triumvirate. But that is a fairly unusual arrangement. I believe it's a transitional phase between outside management coming in as CEO and coming in as COO, which I believe is going to be the most common plan in the future.