"We are not founder-friendly," said Nathan Chandrasekaran, cheekily.
In his experience, only 1 of 4 founders can succeed as CEO once institutional capital is involved. Going from $0 to $20m by yourself is not the same as growing from $20m to $100m with a host of stakeholders (lenders, board members, executive team).
So instead of promising the world to founders ("founder-friendly"), he asks the hard questions upfront and prepares for new leadership when needed, thereby also protecting and growing the founder’s rollover equity and setting the stage for growth.
Nathan describes this as more honest, more profitable, and thereby more founder-friendly than promising continuity that rarely works out.
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