As a CEO your job is to sell, sell and sell. For you to become a very large company, you need lots of customers, not a lot of VCs. As a CEO of a company that m

As a CEO your job is to sell, sell and sell. For you to become a very large company, you need lots of customers, not a lot of VCs. As a CEO of a company that makes products, you should know your product. So, like Jobs or Musk, be good at knowing your product. Go to Xerox Parc to spy or talk to a lot of rocket scientists to test your theories on reusable rockets. Then use your expertise on the product to set the direction for your product team. They need to have your vision tattooed on their chests because at this stage you, the CEO, are the key customer for them. Jobs was very adamant (probably too much) when trying to convey his vision to the team. But they knew, beforehand, what Steve would think and say. That's like having a doppelganger (another you) roaming around the product team. It's very good for the company. Do only the necessary meetings and reviews for that vision to be implemented. Maybe do more in a first design phase so that they (and you) have a clear vision of what needs to be built. No more, no less. Then work on taking that vision to potential customers and try to sell them the idea. If you get some upward graphs, some proof or validation, than VCs will give you the value you deserve. If you finally go into high-growth mode you'll have other problems to solve, but always keep that grasp on product and sales as your work will shift into making them work together smoothly.