CEO Priorities
What should you focus on?
What is the role of a CEO in an emerging company? What should they prioritize during the first couple of years? The answers vary depending on the nature of the business, the stage of product development, and the funding situation.
In my view, the CEO's main priority is to drive the product and its roadmap on a strict timeline. A live product is the best learning tool for a CEO (and everyone else). You can't afford to let timelines slip; doing so risks losing momentum both internally and externally, potentially leading to missed funding opportunities and talent loss. Even if you haven't considered all edge cases or feel your product isn't perfect, it doesn't matter. Just ship it. If you're nearing the crucial "product-market fit" phase, you want to know as soon as possible.
Many founders, myself included, spend most of their time selling the vision to potential investors and (too many) partners— if the business requires onboarding supply partners, for instance. The problem? This distracts from getting the first iteration of your product to real customers. Once you're live, then you can shift focus to selling and brand building.
Another priority should be establishing the foundations for an efficient organization early on. Efficiency comes from three factors: transparency, focus, and accountability. Work on these from day one to minimize chaos when it's time to scale. Some might argue it's too soon to set up proper tools, processes, and methodologies and force their use within your team—that it's better to wait. But trust me, addressing these issues sooner rather than later will do you a big favor.
Out of fear of not having the right skills, I gave away ownership of the product during both phases of the company's history. This was a mistake, particularly during Phase 1. I could and should have been in charge of the product at that time. Doing so would have prevented us from investing too much of our limited funding and time into designing a perfect, yet overly ambitious, digital experience. As a result, we were unable to go live and collect the necessary data to attract more potential investors, and we lost the momentum we had gained with airlines and the travel trade press.
Looking back, I'm convinced that a live product with initial positive engagement metrics would have enabled us to receive several term sheets from different investors. This would have given us options when we hit a wall with our only committed lead investor in 2017.
One thing I did right, however, was implementing a methodology early on for setting and monitoring key objectives, as well as centralizing the resulting knowledge. I also meticulously documented all our activities, meetings, and agreements with investors, airlines, and potential and confirmed (pilot) customers. Though some team members saw this as unnecessary and distracting, establishing that structure and discipline early proved crucial. Without it, I wouldn't have been able to manage the acquisition process single-handedly in 2021.
Takeaway #8
During the first few years, it's essential to get your hands dirty by delving into the nitty-gritty of your product and taking ownership of the product roadmap. Spend the remainder of your time building the foundations for growth and the discipline that comes with it.