On the other hand, the CEO needs to manage the employee talent pool and help to scale the business.

They also need to create a business plan and set goals. When a business owner begins creating plans for their company, one of the first things they need to decide is what title to give themselves and any other employees. One of the main differences between the founder and CEO positions is their responsibilities. The founder is the creator of the business, who can then hire a CEO further down the line. However, although every business has a founder, not every founder needs to be the CEO, too.Īlthough both pivotal roles in a great company, founder and CEO are not the same thing. Now, after his passing, Tim Cook has been appointed to the CEO role. For example, Steve Jobs was a co-founder of Apple, but also a CEO.

Even though it comes with great responsibility, the title of CEO is often a coveted one because they take up the top position in the business and reap the benefits. Typically, they work with the founder to carry out the business’s strategy and vision.Ī CEO needs to delegate tasks, communicate with board members, and liaise with investors. 🤝 Is your tech startup’s team collaborating as effectively as it could be? What should you look out for before you start scaling in earnest?Ī Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is the highest-ranking executive in the business.

How both founders and CEOs can stay accessible to the teamįirst, though, let’s look in detail at the “founder vs CEO” difference to give you a better understanding of how to structure a startup.

Founder vs CEO: how are they different?.

We’ll expand later on how to use the right tools to help you with that. For example, will you rent an office base, or does everyone work from home as part of a distributed team ? If it’s the latter, you’ll need to consider how-as either a CEO or founder-you can stay accessible to your team. You’ll also need to establish when and how they work. That is, where you and your employees fit within the company. Between founder, CEO, Vice President, Managing Director, CTO, and CFO, there’s a lot to unpack.įor startups especially, you need to understand these positions to organize your company’s hierarchy.

Business terminology can get a little complicated.

What is the meaning of ceo