M3-S9 - Wasserman, N. The founder's dilemma

The idea in brief:

• Most entrepreneurs want to make money AND run the show. Research reveals that it is difficult to do both.
• To attract investors, you need to relinquish control
• To stay in charge, you will have less financial means

If you want to get rich:

• You need broader skills such as creating formal processes and specialized roles
• Investors dole out money in stages, they will add their own people in each stage and you will get less control
• If you are more motivate by wealth than power:
  • Recognize when the top job has stretched beyond your abilities and hire a new CEO yourself
  • Be open to pursuing ideas that require external financing.

If you want to run the company:

• Restrict on a business where you already have skills and contacts
• Focus on a business in which you do not need large amounts of capital
• Wait until later in your career until you have developed more skills and accumulated some savings for bootstrapping.