What I hate "The Myth of the Startup COO"

The Myth of the Startup CEO is an old, highly SEO optimized Fortune article by Brad Svrluga.

It's one of the few articles out there that's about the other cofounder at all, and it purports to be helpful.

Here's the gist of it:

• Brad starts out by talking about how co-CEOs don't work. (Ok, different topic)
• Then he goes through what a COO role is in corporate world to show that the role doesn't even exist in the startup world. (News flash: a large corporate CEO doesn't have the same job as a seed-stage startup CEO either, Brad.)
• He points out that high-caliber VPs will want to report to the CEO at an early stage startup, not to a COO (Ok, how the heck many VPs does an early stage startup need? And, as he pointed out earlier, in the corporate world only some functions report to the COO. Like... operations, of which there are plenty in many startups.)

Then he's got this whole little scenario about Sally and Bob, 32 year old ex-McKinsey consultants who start a business. Sally becomes the CEO, and she scales just fine because, in Brad's view, that's a generalist role, good for someone with no direct business experience. The problem with Bob is that he has no functional specialization.

So, Bob, "wouldn’t you rather be on the ship in a smaller role when it gets there than have been cast off a hundred miles out to sea?"

Brad's a VC. One major issue with VCs, especially if they lead your round or sit on your board, is that their opinions are strong and based on what they see as patterns. And then, because they choose whether to reinvest at the next round, and influence whether new funds come on board, they can turn their beliefs patterns into reality. That isn't necessarily the best outcome for our economy, us as cofounders, or startup shareholders generally.

So what does Brad believe, a prioi?

• Bob's come to his startup as a 32 year old cofounder without any functional skills
• Bob's not going to develop enough useful skills
• Giving Bob a title other than COO will make leveling and essentially demoting him easier
• Bob needs to eat some humble pie up front and understand he will never be a player here

This may be all be true... but why are we encouraging great founding CEO's to find a cofounder if that cofounder is pretty useless over time? Doesn't seem like the free labor is worth it vs the dilution. And why are we investing in founding teams with more than one cofounder with no special skills?

But also, here's the dirtier secret: most founding CEOs won't make it. Noam Wasserman studied this, summarized in The Founder's Dilemma. 50% of founder CEOs don't make it three years, 60% won't make it four years.

And I'm thinking Sally is one of those who won't make it if the problems for Bob unfold as Brad laid out. As CEO, she started by picking a cofounder whose skills overlap hers too much. She's not giving Brad feedback or finding someone who can coach him. She's not scoping jobs effectively. When he's not scaling, she's not tackling it head on, and helping him exit gracefully.

These are not the problems of a mature CEO, so is it really Bob's title that's at issue?

Also, I couldn't find good data on how often it happens, but having watched our batchmates and so many other startups, you know who often takes over when the founder CEO leaves early in the startup journey? The other cofounder.

As the other cofounder, regardless of your title, it's your job to scale yourself, over and over as your startup grows. Get the help and support you need to make that happen. And, if you end up in a spot where your skills aren't a good fit, you should make the first move rather than waiting for your cofounder CEO or investors to step in. This is true regardless of whether your title is COO, VP, just cofounder, or nothing at all. Because we all deserve to be in a place where we are both growing and contributing.

And we deserve better than working hard for someone who treats us like Brad.

Here's a link to the article.

I'm not your lawyer, your therapist, your advisor, or your accountant. We're just internet friends, and these are just my experiences and personal opinions. Consult professionals for advice before you make any sudden moves in your startup.

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