In business, the roles of founder and CEO are often considered synonymous. Many people assume a founder is also a CEO. Is this true?
Job titles in the business world or within a company can be difficult to understand, such as founder and CEO. Many businesses have a founder who also holds the CEO position. So, this confusion is understandable.
The following is an explanation of founders, the skills they must have, their duties and responsibilities, and the differences with CEOs.
The founder is
In accordance with its literal meaning, a founder is a founder or someone who first starts a company or business.
A founder is a person who thinks of the original idea for a particular product or service and builds a business or company to offer it to customers.
The founder does all the initial work of the business, from research and funding to production and even distribution. That’s why, no matter what happens to the business in the future, the founder will remain the founder, irreplaceable.
If more than one person establishes a business or company, they are called co-founders. This means they share not only the idea but also the responsibility and workload of establishing the company.
What’s the Difference Between a Founder and a CEO?
If the founder of the business or company does not serve as CEO, then the CEO is most likely employed by the founder or board of directors to carry out the day-to-day tasks of the company.
The CEO here serves as the most senior executive in the organization, responsible for making day-to-day business decisions. However, the founder will likely still make the larger decisions.
So, the CEO is only responsible for ensuring that the company’s strategic goals and long-term plans are implemented by other team members.
Unlike a founder who can never be replaced, someone with the title of CEO must relinquish that position if he or she no longer works for the company.
Also read: The Difference Between Franchises and Partnerships, From Definitions to Support
Roles and Responsibilities of Founders
1. Develop a Business Plan
Most successful businesses start with a well-thought-out business plan, which is the founder’s responsibility. Therefore, a successful business stems from the founder’s careful planning.
2. Building a Vision and Mission
When determining what products to offer to consumers, founders are required to determine the company’s mission and vision.
The reason is so that employees and team members stay aligned and on the same track regarding how to best serve customers.
3. Forming a Board of Directors
In the early stages of a company, founders are often tasked with determining what kind of governing body or board the company should have, as well as who should be on it.
Once formed, the founder is responsible for overseeing the relationship between the board of directors he formed and the company he owns.
4. Recruiting Employees and Executive Team
When establishing a new business, the founder’s responsibility is to assemble a team that can realize the vision he has created.
This typically starts with an executive team that can oversee critical aspects of the business, as well as support staff and employees responsible for product execution and delivering the final offering to customers.
5. Initial Funding
This is the most important role and responsibility of a founder. To start a business, the founder must be the one who provides the initial funding.
This can be done by applying for a loan or financing, applying for a grant, seeking venture capital, or using personal assets.
The funds are used for initial business expenses until the company begins to generate enough revenue to cover the costs.
Key Skills a Founder Must Have
1. Self-confidence
The founder will be the first person to meet with other professionals to share ideas and convince them to invest time or money into his prospective business.
So, founders must be smart in using words and actions to show confidence in presentations, meetings, and communications.
2. Communication
Using strong written and verbal communication skills is essential for founders.
Why? Because it is through this method that the founder can convince and inspire others to adopt his business model and carry out his plans to establish a company.
Choosing the most impactful and meaningful words is one way a founder demonstrates his or her superior communication skills.
3. Organize
Founders must use their organizational skills to manage all aspects of the company, including setting up a financial structure, creating a vision for the new business, marketing the brand, and bringing in other experts to help build the company.
4. Creativity
Creative thinking is used by founders to envision new products or new methods of offering services to consumers.
Thinking outside the box, which can lead to industry-changing ideas, is a crucial skill for founders. This can be developed by reading and researching a variety of topics to foster creative thinking.
5. Business Knowledge
With their business knowledge, founders can gain a deep understanding of business practices necessary to establish a company. From marketing to operations management, knowledge of every aspect of the business will help founders launch their company.
Earning a degree in business studies or having an MBA not only helps the founder himself, but also gives confidence to potential investors and business partners.
Also read: Types of Entrepreneurs and Their Differences from Entrepreneurs, Don’t Get It Wrong!
Should the Founder Be the CEO?
Founders must consider several important factors when deciding whether or not to become CEO of their company. One major consideration is the founder’s strengths and abilities.
It cannot be denied that even though a founder is skilled at envisioning new concepts in business or developing new products, a founder may not have strong leadership or organizational skills.
Additionally, the founder may also be involved in several business ventures, making it difficult for him to devote time to managing one company, as a CEO would.
This means that a founder doesn’t need to force themselves to become CEO. Deciding to hire a CEO is the best way to ensure the business runs smoothly and succeeds.
For those of you who have your own business and can’t afford to hire a CEO, now you can get help from the Labamu application.
There is an Employee feature to ensure the business continues to operate safely and avoid fraud even when you are not there and an Order Management feature to make the ordering process faster and more accurate so that customer satisfaction increases.
So, no matter whether you are a founder or not, let’s immediately download the Labamu application on Google Play or the App Store to grow your business!
