Startup Secret 31: Always be closing
The startup CEO has to do everything, but there's one thing especially that only the CEO can do.
--James Joaquin, partner, Catamount Ventures
What is the real job of a startup CEO? To get most companies to escape velocity--that is, to the point where they are actual companies, to the point where you, as CEO, can go on vacation and not worry yourself sick about the company surviving until you get back--you need to make sure your baby has funding to make it to your next milestone, and then beyond.
Your seed investment won't be sufficient. Why not? Because no smart investor is going to give you enough funding to make you comfortable. They don't want you to be comfortable. They want you to be hungry--and focused on the task of moving your business forward. That is probably going to take more money that you have. Ever.
"You need to start thinking about the A round when the ink is still dry on the Seed paperwork," James says.
Yes, it's important to hire well, to have vision, to design products. The entrepreneur needs to do all these things. But there is one job that only the CEO can do, and that is to sell off pieces of the company to investors.
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