Focus on Building, not Managing
Chandran Krishnan
Managing Director & CEO - Campus Angels Network; Principal Advisor - SSN Incubation Foundation; Board Director - IIM Calcutta Innovation Park
Picture a passionate filmmaker, celebrated for their storytelling and vision. Now, imagine them caught up in the logistics of managing studios, negotiating distribution deals, and overseeing a vast production team. Would they thrive, or would they lose touch with their true passion? This is what happens to many entrepreneurs when they move away from creation and into management.
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A few months ago, I was talking to a founder who had built an innovative tech startup. At first, their energy was contagious. They loved the thrill of building something new, solving tough problems, and pushing the boundaries of what their product could do. But as the company grew, something changed. They began spending more time managing a team, handling finance reports, and sitting in board meetings. The excitement was gone, and what remained was the monotony of running a business. It made me wonder: Why do we push brilliant innovators into roles where their true talents are not fully utilized??
In many industries, success often means moving up to management. If you are a great teacher, you eventually become a principal. If you are an outstanding engineer, you end up leading teams instead of designing. It is a system that pulls people away from the work they love, believing that career growth should mean handling more responsibility, not necessarily doing what you are best at. It is a model that does not always align with the nature of entrepreneurship.?
In the startup world, this shift happens too. Founders, after building a successful company, are expected to take the reins as CEO, managing the day-to-day operations of the business. But the qualities that make a great founder—creativity, risk-taking, and a desire to innovate—are not the same skills needed to manage an expanding team. In fact, the administrative grind can drain the energy of someone who thrives in the chaos and excitement of early-stage building.?
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This is where we often go wrong. We idolize the entrepreneurs who stick around and grow their companies into major enterprises. But what if we celebrated the ones who excel at launching a startup and then know when to pass it on to someone who loves scaling??
The truth is, for many entrepreneurs, the joy lies in creation, not in long-term management. The thrill of the startup journey is often in the ideation and problem-solving phases. It is about taking a blank canvas and turning it into something remarkable. But once the business stabilizes, the founder may no longer be the right person to run it day-to-day. That is not a failure—it is a recognition of different strengths.?
What if founders focused on being serial creators rather than lifelong CEOs? After building something remarkable, why not hand it off to a team of skilled operators who enjoy scaling and optimizing? This would free up entrepreneurial minds to move on to the next project, fueling a cycle of innovation rather than getting stuck in the operational details.?
Some of the most successful founders are the ones who understand when it is time to step aside and let someone else take the lead. Rather than cling to the role of CEO, they move on to what they do best—creating the future.?
Embrace the freedom to keep building. That is where your true genius lies.
Seasoned entrepreneur and founder of CAMS
2 个月I am able to empathise with Chandran's PoV. However, from a founder perspective, the mission is to ensure long term stability of his baby. This necessarily involves involvement in the "admin" aspect of a business; because bad admin (think taxes) can sink a business as surely as a bad product decision. As time progresses the founder will get dragged into admin. but he must set aside inviolable time in the day to pursue the "creation" passion. This window must be known to everyone and all his commitments must work around it. This was a process I followed in my company; I would set aside a certain time for platform work, and everyone knew better than to bother me at that time. This combo kept me energised and engaged and made me want to come to work in the morning. Another famous Chennai based SaaS founder has also done this. You should tell your founders to do something like this.
Strategic and Visionary Business Leader
2 个月Interesting perspective, Chandran sir. This reminds me of Steve Jobs' words - "You know who the best managers are. They're the great individual contributors who never ever want to be a manager, but decide they have to be a manager because no one else is going to be able to do as good a job as that"
Architect, Change Maker, Eco-Builder ~ Creating Sustainable Communities, Ecopreneur
2 个月Thanks CK for this insight! It’s like an artist who shouldn’t become a museum curator! Most of the time, the true artist remains an artist themselves. Admin roles are often pushed onto faculties by management, and similarly, investors shouldn’t push managerial roles onto founders.
Senior Managing Director - Strategic Relationships at Spark Capital Advisors (India) Private Limited
2 个月Good PoV Chandran. But the challenge is the emotional attachment with the startup, “control freak” mindset of typical entrepreneurs, perhaps a deep sense of insecurity around their continued relevance, distaste for someone else potentially sinking their startup or taking credit for success, et al come in the way of folks actually doing it. A few manage to overcome all of this and more and manage it effectively.