The thing that bugs me about the "founders should run the company" line of thought is that it's not entirely true. Bill Gates handed the business side of the c

The thing that bugs me about the "founders should run the company" line of thought is that it's not entirely true. Bill Gates handed the business side of the company over to John Shirley in 1983 and Steve Jobs did the same with Apple and John Sculley. And both were right to do so (Gates often says Microsoft might not have made it without Shirley, Jobs is still a little bitter about the whole "pushing him out of the company thing") Both realized it would be better to have someone with experience run the company while they learned the ropes (since both eventually took over their respective companies though we all know Jobs' road to CEO of Apple was a longer one) So it's' not like there's some grand tradition of founders holding onto the reigns of power and never letting go. Just the opposite. The truly smart founders got someone who knew what they were doing and used the opportunity to learn from them.