5 ms·

Most 20 somethings are usually used by venture capital firms to prove an idea and then replaced with more experienced and trusted executives. There are a few r

Most 20 somethings are usually used by venture capital firms to prove an idea and then replaced with more experienced and trusted executives. There are a few rare exceptions, like Facebook.

ziddoap 7y ago
Do you have any citation on this? Genuinely interested to see if this is a real phenomenon or just anecdotally what you have witnessed.
- rgbrenner 7y ago
  This is true, but I don't think VCs use young founders to prove an idea. A startup is a very different environment than an enterprise.. and it's very rare that a person can execute well at all stages. So eventually the startup grows to a point where more professional leadership is helpful.. and VCs will happily replace a founder if they think it'll make them more money. There's a lot of research on this (and dating back quite a while.. not new at all). So here are just some quick links I found: https://www.kauffman.org/-/media/kauffman_org/research-reports-and-covers/2015/11/ceo_evolution.pdf https://www.kauffman.org/-/media/kauffman_org/research-repor... https://academic.oup.com/rfs/article-abstract/31/4/1532/4604800?redirectedFrom=fulltext https://academic.oup.com/rfs/article-abstract/31/4/1532/4604... https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/the-founding-ceos-dilemma-stay-or-go https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/the-founding-ceos-dilemma-stay-or... https://www.businessinsider.com/how-often-do-founding-ceos-get-replaced-2011-8 https://www.businessinsider.com/how-often-do-founding-ceos-g... Also this is a nice article about this from the Founders Dilemma (which is a good book also): https://hbr.org/2008/02/the-founders-dilemma https://hbr.org/2008/02/the-founders-dilemma
  - remotecool 7y ago
    Creating a successful startup is proving an idea. That was my point.
  - ziddoap 7y ago
    Thanks for all the info!
ulfw 7y ago
Those executives aren’t “founders” though. So I am not sure how this applies.

Most 20 somethings are usually used by venture capital firms to prove an idea and then replaced with more experienced and trusted executives. There are a few rare exceptions, like Facebook.

ziddoap 7y ago

Do you have any citation on this? Genuinely interested to see if this is a real phenomenon or just anecdotally what you have witnessed.

rgbrenner 7y ago
This is true, but I don't think VCs use young founders to prove an idea. A startup is a very different environment than an enterprise.. and it's very rare that a person can execute well at all stages. So eventually the startup grows to a point where more professional leadership is helpful.. and VCs will happily replace a founder if they think it'll make them more money. There's a lot of research on this (and dating back quite a while.. not new at all). So here are just some quick links I found: https://www.kauffman.org/-/media/kauffman_org/research-reports-and-covers/2015/11/ceo_evolution.pdf https://www.kauffman.org/-/media/kauffman_org/research-repor... https://academic.oup.com/rfs/article-abstract/31/4/1532/4604800?redirectedFrom=fulltext https://academic.oup.com/rfs/article-abstract/31/4/1532/4604... https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/the-founding-ceos-dilemma-stay-or-go https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/the-founding-ceos-dilemma-stay-or... https://www.businessinsider.com/how-often-do-founding-ceos-get-replaced-2011-8 https://www.businessinsider.com/how-often-do-founding-ceos-g... Also this is a nice article about this from the Founders Dilemma (which is a good book also): https://hbr.org/2008/02/the-founders-dilemma https://hbr.org/2008/02/the-founders-dilemma
- remotecool 7y ago
  Creating a successful startup is proving an idea. That was my point.
- ziddoap 7y ago
  Thanks for all the info!

ulfw 7y ago

Those executives aren’t “founders” though. So I am not sure how this applies.