Hong Clarifies

Understanding when Entrepreneurs step down as CEO: "My point: Many if not most entrepreneurs dream of the day when they can drop their CEO responsibilities and let someone else have it. At that point, they can get back to the environment that they thrive in.. one where they have nothing to lose and can just have fun again building new things (even if from within the same company). The tough part is finding a CEO that you believe is the right person to replace yourself and take care of your baby."

It really depends on where the founder lands on the Rich vs. King dilemma, but what James says is definitely true in the cases I've seen. I've never accomplished it myself, but have always been jealous of entrepreneurs who've been able to bring in someone competent to take on the hard job of being CEO.

When founders get pissed about it is when the investors bring in a tool who they know is going to screw everything up.