Founders

How can a founder step back and shift into a more strategic role?

The Strategy Team in cyber•Fund researched this subtle question and interviewed dozens of unicorn founders, fund managers and CEOs to create an actionable playbook.

Full post: https://cyber.fund/content/hands-off

Summary in comments👇

Research at cyber.fund | prev mathematician | artofkot.xyz

*Hands-on start is vital* 

Hands-on approach offers a founder:

- Deep Context Understanding for both day-to-day and big-picture decisions;

- Enhanced Business Traction to deliver faster and more visible milestones for the business; 

- Control Over Risks in real-time before they become painful issues.

Our conversations revealed no universal playbook for founders looking to take a step back without stepping away. To approach that, we’ve sketched out a two-part blueprint:

1. Parenting Agent (Who is in charge)
2. Parenting Mode (How the business is managed)

Parenting Agent options:

1a. Founder-driven approach: a founder remains at the helm often as a CEO co-pilot

1b. Board-Driven Approach: the decision-making authority goes to a professional board

1c. Team-driven Approach: a dedicated portfolio management team takes the reins

Parenting Mode options:

2a. Hands-On: a parent remains deeply involved in daily operations.

2b. Strategic Guide: a parent offers direction and inspiration but resists the urge to micromanage.

2c. Hands-Off: a parent steps back, overseeing from a distance.

In shifting from doing to delegating, we mapped out several transition paths. Yellow flags mark the intermediate stops. Blue flags stand at the finish line. Paths toward the desired state are red, green, and blue. Which way you'll go depends on factors we explore below.

1. Portfolio Strategy: Just like a family, every business is unique. If you have many of them and they're all different, you'll likely need to take a step back and let them do their thing. The more they vary and the more of them there are, the less you'll want to be in the weeds.

2. Industry Context: Some industries move fast and need quick decisions. Others might need a closer eye due to strict rules and regulations. Also, think about what is a business trying to win at cutting costs or being the next big thing. That'll help you decide how close to stay.

3. Founders’ resources and capabilities: If you're great with big-picture thinking, maybe you don't need to be involved day-to-day. But if you've got the know-how to dive deep into daily operations, then being a hands-on guide could be your sweet spot.

Ultimately, stepping back isn't about disengaging. It's a shift to empower your ventures with robust teams, sharper tools, and forward-thinking strategies. This is how you ensure that your businesses don't just continue—they soar, reflecting the new heights you're aiming for.

Yet, staying too long in the trenches of daily operations has its pitfalls:

- Founder Burnout;

- Strategic Myopia due to Founder's tunnel vision;

- Business Vulnerability due to over-dependence on the Founder;

- Biased Decision Making;

- Founder's Innovation Bandwidth Limit.