This makes sense to me, but at a startup assuming that the CEO is the lifeblood of the idea for the company (as s/he should be) aren't they essentially the PM m

This makes sense to me, but at a startup assuming that the CEO is the lifeblood of the idea for the company (as s/he should be) aren't they essentially the PM manager that you describe here? I guess this is a moot point, but we're obviously only focusing on a startup that is heavily technology focused. What about one where the pudding is actually a process or physical commodity and the technology portion is merely an extension of this?