The 6 Important Qualities of a CEO in a Startup Company
“There’s a certain amount of opportunity that arises from working with a young company filled with fresh ideas. There’s the opportunity to build a stellar team, solve new problems, change the world and even accelerate your own personal growth as well.” NISHA AHLUWALIA CONTRIBUTOR Vice President of Marketing at PagerDuty https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/239156
Hello, my name is Charles Yates. I am responding to your listing for a CEO position for your company. I have found that having the right mix of qualities, personal experience alongside a good formal education with a good work ethic is the key to being successful in one’s particular area. I not only have these qualities; I use them daily in my private as well as my business. I feel I will be a good fit for your company. The CEO needs to be a Recruiter, Cheerleader, Coach, Dealmaker, Salesperson, Customer Support Champion, Strategist, Student, and Firefighter. And last but not least, Decider. These are the things that I will bring to the table of your company in the position of CEO
1. Cash flow It is the CEO’s job to manage revenue, expenses and external financing to maintain the consistent growth of the business. A CEO needs to know how to pull the right levers to affect revenue and expenses, to successfully communicate growth opportunities to potential new investors. 2. Product vision My team needs to continually feel clear and excited about where the company is headed. It is the CEO’s responsibility to regularly refine my company’s product vision as a result of frequent interactions with my clientele. 3. Team building Venture capitalists are looking for five things in a startup: People, product, people, market and people. Without the right CEO leading the way, there’s little chance a business will continue traveling in the right direction. A good CEO is constantly questioning whether the right people are in the right places. Are there any roles need to be re-organized? Are any bad apples affecting the performance of the rest of the team? Do people like their jobs? Do we need to create any new vacancies for unmet leadership needs? Continually optimizing for team fit is a difficult activity, but it pays off exponentially as you put the right people in the right places. 4. Investor Management The moment your startup first takes outside capital; you suddenly have a new boss: your shareholders. This only becomes more poignant as you continue to capitalize your business. Keeping your investors informed, helpful and happy is one of the most underrated things that CEOs can do to improve their chances of success. A good CEO knows the right frequency and nature of updates to send to each tier of investor. He or she maintains a list of all her existing investors’ skill sets, so he or she can remember to ask people for favors at the right times. And he or she never lets months go by without at least a phone call (how many months depends on the type of relationship and number of investors). Gaining the respect and enthusiasm of your investors increases the amount that these advocates will evangelize your company in their respective circles of influence. Your investors can be your greatest salespeople if you leverage them correctly. 5. Brand management Building and maintaining a strong brand personally and for my company is a product of thought leadership and relationship management activities. These activities are easy to neglect but can dramatically increase your credibility in the eyes of your market. To build a strong brand, you must be proactive and generous with your time. You may need to speak at industry events, do favors for colleagues, write blog posts, become active on Twitter or send handwritten notes to your top customers, partners or co-workers. Only you can decide what brand you want to project and how confidently you want to project it. Over time, time spent expanding your profile and fostering personal investments will be well worth the investment. 6. Corporate development When you are heads-down working on your product and team, it is easy to forget about managing your company’s place in your overall industry. There could be big opportunities available if you were only having the right conversations. For example, should you be partnering with other firms in your space? Preparing for a future acquisition? Looking for small acquisition opportunities of your own? Continually researching and connecting with the key players in your market will help you pave the way for a successful exit. Most successful acquisitions are the result of ongoing conversations between the startup and the acquirer. The more relationships you have with the key players in your industry -- including big companies, law firms, and VCs -- the more successfully you’ll be able to navigate an eventual exit. And I have cultivated quite a few during my many years in the Music Industry. There are many more random activities that a CEO must undertake on a daily basis. But if you aren’t tackling the above six areas of responsibility, then your company will have a hard time succeeding. I can more than handle the position your company is offering, will be hoping to hear from you soon. Thank you for your time, Best Regards, Charles Yates References: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/239156 https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/244391 https://www.groovehq.com/blog/startup-ceo-role
