Founders should not get worked up about titles, though they often do need them as a matter of formality (e.g., the corporate law requires it) or as a matter of

Founders should not get worked up about titles, though they often do need them as a matter of formality (e.g., the corporate law requires it) or as a matter of public positioning (e.g., third parties want a contract signed by the CEO) or as a matter of necessity (someone has to be the point person to sign contracts, government forms, etc.). The unhealthy variation is where founders let titles get to their heads and screw up their perspective on who they are and what they are doing (the point of this article). While the bad cases do happen, I would not eschew titles altogether, as they do play a helpful and utilitarian role in the early-stage companies and can even reflect the reality that some founders truly do have stand-out leadership and strategic-thinking qualities so as to merit the title CEO. So, use the titles if you have to; just don't over-emphasize them at the start, or lose sight of what they mean, as this can and does lead to problems.