3 ms·

There might be at least the perception that the CEO will spend most of their tenure plotting their next startup (and quite possibly poaching employees and intel

There might be at least the perception that the CEO will spend most of their tenure plotting their next startup (and quite possibly poaching employees and intellectual property on the way out). Think Anthony Levandowski. Are there any well known cases of startup CEOs who were wildly successful as employees in another company?

DenisM 7y ago
>Are there any well known cases of startup CEOs who were wildly successful as employees in another company? Wildly might be a high bar, but otherwise it's pretty much majority of acquisitions.
- microtherion 7y ago
  My impression is that the CEOs often (typically?) leave as soon as whatever vesting periods are defined in the acquisition have passed. But now you mention acquisitions, it could be argued that NeXT CEO Steve Jobs did OK as an Apple employee…
  - blotter_paper 7y ago
    I'm not arguing with the rule, but one notable exception is Kevin Systrom who stayed with Instagram for years (growing it from 30 million users when the acquisition was announced to over 800 million). He discusses the choice to stay, and the reactions from others in the company, in this interview: https://tim.blog/2019/04/25/kevin-systrom/ https://tim.blog/2019/04/25/kevin-systrom/ Direct mp3 link, since Tim Ferriss puts a wall of text before his actual content: https://rss.art19.com/episodes/6c7b3008-cf08-4aae-93f8-d3fde8fca727.mp3 https://rss.art19.com/episodes/6c7b3008-cf08-4aae-93f8-d3fde...
bhouston 7y ago
Andy Rubin was a President/CEO/Founder of Android and then was at Google for a decade. Maybe he wasn't C-level though. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Rubin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Rubin
- sangnoir 7y ago
  Difference is, Google acquired his startup - he din't apply to Google solo after an Android "exit".
- microtherion 7y ago
  Yes, I agree that this is a very successful case.

DenisM 7y ago

>Are there any well known cases of startup CEOs who were wildly successful as employees in another company? Wildly might be a high bar, but otherwise it's pretty much majority of acquisitions.

microtherion 7y ago
My impression is that the CEOs often (typically?) leave as soon as whatever vesting periods are defined in the acquisition have passed. But now you mention acquisitions, it could be argued that NeXT CEO Steve Jobs did OK as an Apple employee…
- blotter_paper 7y ago
  I'm not arguing with the rule, but one notable exception is Kevin Systrom who stayed with Instagram for years (growing it from 30 million users when the acquisition was announced to over 800 million). He discusses the choice to stay, and the reactions from others in the company, in this interview: https://tim.blog/2019/04/25/kevin-systrom/ https://tim.blog/2019/04/25/kevin-systrom/ Direct mp3 link, since Tim Ferriss puts a wall of text before his actual content: https://rss.art19.com/episodes/6c7b3008-cf08-4aae-93f8-d3fde8fca727.mp3 https://rss.art19.com/episodes/6c7b3008-cf08-4aae-93f8-d3fde...

bhouston 7y ago

Andy Rubin was a President/CEO/Founder of Android and then was at Google for a decade. Maybe he wasn't C-level though. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Rubin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Rubin

sangnoir 7y ago
Difference is, Google acquired his startup - he din't apply to Google solo after an Android "exit".
microtherion 7y ago
Yes, I agree that this is a very successful case.