Comments on: Are You A Founder, CEO, or Entrepreneur?

By: Bill

Bill — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 15:46:27 +0000

Just a thought…being the founder means early mornings, late evenings, weekends without your family, missed birthdays, I can go on but you get the point. SACRIFICE for an idea that you believe wil have great meaning in an effort to change someone’s life or something in their life. Founder means only one thing. You came up with the idea and contributed you blood, sweat and many times tears. CEO means you are currently the Captain of the ship. Perhaps you may be LUCKY enough to be both at the same time. Continue to innovate and create

By: Augustine

Augustine — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:58:50 +0000

Very interesting perspectives on this forum. I have set-up 7 companies in the last 10 years which I would call my first business cycle and now after several successes and failures am on my second business cycle with sourceprocuredeliver.com or SPD

My perspective on the question we all face of what do we call ourselves is as follows:

1. We need to bear in mind the context and situation we find ourselves in when the three titles needs to be invoked.

2. What you call yourself in a face-to-face introduction can be any of the titles and depends on where you are and who you are being introduced to. If you are getting introduced to Bill Gates, it may look a bit amusing to introduce yourself as Founder and CEO of XYZ.

3. The dilemma is what you put on your business card.
Founder means – Conceptualizer, the Visionary. It is this ones person’s vision and determination that the thought germinates into an idea, an idea into a concept, a concept into a business plan and a business plan into an organization.
It can be one person or a team of entreupreneurs who hit upon an idea jointly and mutually agree on respective roles and functions, becoming co-founders. Here the TEAM who met first are all visionaries.
CEO – is the functional term. The implementor. The strategist who plans & implements the vision of the Founder.
Entreupreuner is the generic term that expresses your personality, the kind of person you are and the way you want to be seen as. It is how someone introduces you as. Meet Mr. David, he is an Entreupreuner.
Hi! My name is David, I am an Entreupreuner..is not right there..
Hi! I’m David, I am the Founder of XYZ
Hi! I’m David, I am the Founder and CEO of XYZ

4. On my first business cycle I used the title of Managing Director on my business card and also when I introduced myself. Went well in all situations. It aptly described me as the Business Owner as well as the implementor.

5, Until the start-up has grown into a larger organization, say about 50 staff, it would be the Founder who runs the day-to-day functions of the CEO. Till such time, Founder and CEO is appropriate. In some ways it expresses the same meaning as the term Managing Director. Doesn’t matter if the company has only 2 staff, you are still the one directing and implementing the fortunes of the Company.

Hope the above adds a fresh perspective to the discussion

By: isnice

isnice — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 02:12:53 +0000

CEO – Is when you have a board of directors
Founder – Is not a position within the company
Entrepreneur – Is not a position within the company

Owner <<< This one all of you missed. Owner or Co. Owner is a position within the company and it means that you are the one who controls the action.

By: globalgal

globalgal — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:14:27 +0000

ISI discussed this theory in their American Business Magazine, which had some similar ideas.

By: ShanaJaye

ShanaJaye — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 23:27:48 +0000

Wow there are a lot of great points here. I consider myself founder of Stilettos in Business because it was my idea and I’m working (solely) to build it.

Thanks for the food for thought.

By: larrycheng

larrycheng — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 13:26:24 +0000

Aldrich, glad to hear that the blog post helped out. I like that you decided to stick with co-founder. There’s just something about being a founder that’s different than any other title.

By: Aldrich Burmeister

Aldrich Burmeister — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 07:16:45 +0000

I am in the process of founding an NGO/NPO and this has been a burning question for the past few months. This is an awesome discussion and I must say many of you make very interesting and valid points.

Because of you, I have decided to stick with Co-Founder/Director and leave it at that. Since this business is very new and there is only 2 “employees”, i fell it most fitting and appropriate. As a co-founder/director, I can proudly claim my stake as an entrepreneur (who else start new businesses after all) while advising the reader via my business card that I am also a leader in this company. This is round 3 for me and I am proud of having that entrepreneurial spirit and drive and it should therefore show on my card that I am more than just a leader, I am a dreamer, a creator of new things, a risk taker, a do’er of the undone.

Thank you everyone for your contribution to this interesting topic.

By: Business Partners

Business Partners — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 17:24:04 +0000

The level of committment is what differs:

I am a founder.
Subtext: Indicates emotional and financial investment in a business.

I am a CEO.
Subtext: One can be a CEO of a company that one doesn’t necessarily have a financial stake or emotional attachment to.

I am an entrepreneur.
Subtext: I would do this even if it didn’t have a financial stake. An entrepreneur can start a business, and not necessarily see it through as it ages.

By: Dino Palmieri

Dino Palmieri — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 00:10:07 +0000

Very good responses from everyone on here. Personally I think that CEO is a title that should be reserved for when you actually have a human resources department, if not, then whats the point of saying you’re the leader if you have no one to lead? Calling yourself a CEO with less than 20 employees would be like a squad leader calling himself a General. I think the order should be Entrepreneur, Founder, then CEO. Entrepreneurs are visionaries until the vision becomes a reality. At that point you’re the founder aspiring to be a true CEO with underlings that would include a board of directors, and multiple departments. So basically I see an Entrepreneur as a “prospector” until he finds gold. At that point it’s time to become a miner/ founder and actually make something of your claim.

By: Rick Morgan

Rick Morgan — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 22:47:18 +0000

Very educational discussion. I am a founder who is anxious to shed the role of CEO. I fimrly believe that to continue to meet the needs of our customers, organizations must evolve through a particular life-cycle change.
This change is from typically entrepreneurial, seat-of-the-pants growth (to which I’m well suited) to well-planned and managed development (to which I’m not).

Look forward to reading more!