Not all founders grow into CEOs.

I started my first real start up when I was 23. It was a rocket ship. We bootstrapped our way to getting the attention of some real players that wanted to acquire a bunch of similar companies, which we did and then we went public. At some point, I was asked by our Chairman, if I wanted to be CEO. My response, "I'm a founder, I never had a chance to learn how to be CEO. I don't think it makes much sense for me to be CEO of a public company with zero experience." The Chairman and his investors were going to give me a shot, but it made no sense to me. I stayed on and when we recruited a top leadership team, it validated my decision. However, I was able to spend the next few years learning "on the job" from our CEO, COO, CMO and CFO. A year later, I had no regrets. I had something better than an MBA, I had real world experience.

Fast forward and 20 years later I found myself running Ga Tech's ATDC. I had 20+ founders in my incubator from all types of experiences and industries. Eventually I printed out the Job Description of a CEO. I kept it on my desk and when founders came and met with me, I would ask them to review it and ask "Are you a CEO or a founder?" It would hit them like a ton of bricks. The next step, I would ask say "when your start up needs it, are you going to be ready to be CEO?" I have seen founders earn the role of CEO at their start ups. It is not a common occurrence, because most start ups don't outgrow their founder's capabilities. Sometimes this is circumstantial, but sometimes it is because of the founder. In the cases where I have seen founder's grow into becoming the CEO of a rocket ship start up, there is a pattern that emerges.

1. They are curious and want to have a good understanding of EVERY functional area. Nothing is of disinterest for them.
2. They have great relationships with their board and are always asking for intros for their own personal growth. Not just intros for investors and customers.
3. They are very active in the interview process to learn from candidates. They ask lots of questions.
4. While they may not be an expert at every functional role, when a board member asks about something, they respond "I don't know that off the top of my head, let me find out." VS "Let me check with my CFO and get you an answer."
5. They have great relationships with the CEOs of their investors other portfolio companies. They treat it like a peer group and want to learn from them.
6. They read a lot. Typically 1-2 books a week. They realize the importance of being a continual learner.
7. While they work hard, like all founders, they also carve out time for personal growth. They treat it with a higher level of than the day-to-day fires at their start up. It's a habit, like brushing their teeth.
8. They generally do not suffer from imposters syndrome, because they know they aren't a CEO yet.

If you want to learn more about these topics, join my community (it's free). We host a lot of programs that help you develop from Founder to CEO. Many are led by me personally and some are more of a group setting.

https://kpreddy.co/catalyst-community

If you are interested in more of my start up stories, be sure to check out my book What You Know About Startups Is Wrong