The 4 Types of Startup CEOs
Which one are you?
During my time in the startup world with Fetchnotes, I’ve noticed that one of the most misunderstood positions is that of the “startup CEO.” It’s a job very different from the CEO of a large company like Apple or Goldman Sachs, and one that people tend to think attracts one particular type of personality — the generic “hustler.”
Having spent a lot of time with different CEOs (both greenhorn and veteran) since moving to Boston, I’ve noticed four distinct archetypes stand out, along with associated strengths and weaknesses. By no means does this represent every CEO out there, but they’ve definitely been the most common.
The Braveheart
The Braveheart is the classic image of leadership — it’s the business equivalent of Mel Gibson on a horse rallying his troops into battle. This is the type of CEO that thrives off of giving big speeches to large groups about a grandiose vision. They’re the type of people you want to believe in, even if you have doubts. They frame everything they do in terms of changing the world.
Superpower
This CEO is incredible at attracting employees and investors, and keeping them motivated too. They build superstar teams and raise monster rounds from top tier investors because they tell big stories that attract ambitious people.
Kryptonite
Often times this CEO has trouble bringing things down to earth and focusing on the details. While they might be very good at selling to investors and employees, they’re often not good at selling their product or service because they have trouble answering, “So what does it actually do?” They can also get so caught up in the big picture that they don’t think to do the little things that, in aggregate, need to happen in order to move the company forward.
The Salesman
The Salesman is quite similar to the Braveheart, but inverted. Put them in a room with 100 strangers and 95 of them will be customers/users by the end of the night. They are masters at finding the nuanced details about people that can be used to close a sale. They are tenacious, eloquent, fast-paced and persistent.
Superpower
This CEO can bring in meaningful early revenue or traction through their hustle alone. Without any real distribution strategies in place, they can often “will” their company to break-even or meaningful adoption.
Kryptonite
In a startup, sometimes the wrong thing to do is sell — you need to figure out what people want first. This CEO runs the risk of committing to a bad idea too early because they’re more comfortable in pitch mode than genuinely listening to people about their problems. Furthermore, they can be misled by sales that are the result of their tenacity, not the company’s value proposition.
The Beast
The Beast is totally different. They lead not by words or stories, but by making shit happen. They are the 10x contributors — the people who can build a product singlehandedly in a weekend that takes a team of 5 months to ship, or find ways to create opportunities for the company that no one else would dream of. They often shoulder a key function of the business (like product development) early on, and usually have a technical, design or other product-oriented skill set.
Superpower
Not only do they create a velocity advantage, but they tend to attract the best talent. Especially with engineers, A-players tend to want to work with other A-players. They have a way of commanding their respect, too.
Kryptonite
This CEO often has trouble scaling their role. They’re so good at what they do that they have an unattainable bar for the people to whom they cede responsibility (“I can do it better, so I’ll just keep doing it”). To grow past a certain point, you need to learn how to replicate and leverage yourself by delegating to others.
The MacGyver
No matter the circumstances, The MacGyver always figures out a way to live another day. They find ways to do more with less, and they steer out of crisis through sheer willpower and determination rather than lofty words. Can’t raise a round? Key employee left? Google tries to put you out of business? Major strategy thrown down the toilet by delay elsewhere in the organization? It doesn’t matter — MacGyver is resourceful enough to figure out how to get through it and achieve success.
Superpower
MacGyver will never let the company fail. Somehow, some way they’ll always find a way to achieve a positive outcome — and they’ll do it on less money too (often yielding better overall returns for shareholders). MacGyvers also tend to be great facilitators, and they’ll do whatever it takes, including any dirty work, to make sure their team has the resources needed (capital, talent, advice, whatever) to succeed.
Kryptonite
Too much time putting out fires and preventing death can lead you to forget the important exercise of evolving your vision and innovating for the future. MacGyver also runs the risk of making an inevitable death more painful by refusing to throw in the towel, wasting everyone’s most precious asset — their time.
As a startup CEO, at any given time you need to channel your inner Braveheart, Salesman, Beast and MacGyver — often all four in the same day. But over time, you’ll likely notice that one of these will stand out as your dominant archetype. Which one are you?