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Ryan Caldbeck Profile picture
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5 Mar, 8 tweets, 2 min read
1/ I think a CEOs job boils down to 3 things:

-set and evangelize the vision
-attract and retain talent
-don't run out of money

That's my framework.
2/ Vision: I think this is probably the CEO's most important job and one the CEO is uniquely positioned to do.

It is laying out a clear, crisp and compelling vision, consistently reinforcing it, and inspiring others to follow it (and evangelize it themselves).
3/ Attract/retain talent: This tweet from @Altimor
is pretty telling of how important attracting talent is.

CEO must also help retain talent- in lots of ways.

4/ Don't run out of money: The goal is to not run out of money because you run a great business and revenue > costs. Growth is self-funded.

Sometimes VC money is required to get there. Regardless, the CEO is responsible for not running out of money.
5/ That starts with understanding the economics of the business and properly forecasting. Others should clearly be involved in this process, but you can't in my experience simply delegate it.

Many startups also need to fundraise- CEO should be heavily involved IMO.
6/ I found this framework to be clarifying as a CEO to help decide what not to do, as well as what to do. Every startup has 100 fires and the CEO has time to work on 2-3. I found that using this framework helped me focus on the things I was uniquely responsible for.
7/ If there was a sales issue or product issue I was getting pulled into- should I be? Was that more of an issue of not having the right team in place?

Other CEOs may have frameworks that work for them, this was just what I believe.
8/ While I didn't knowingly copy @fredwilson, his thinking has influenced me a ton and I'm sure this framework was taken from him. Thank you Fred :)

avc.com/2010/08/what-a…

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More from @ryan_caldbeck

Ryan Caldbeck Profile picture
10 Feb
1/ In preparation for my transition away from CEO in October, I had done research on how others navigated similar transitions. Since then others have asked that work. Here is a summary of that research and some of my learnings about the transition.
2/ For context: I talked to about 15 CEOs that transitioned out of their role. Some got fired, some had companies that folded up, some sold their company for billion(s) and some ran public companies. It was purposefully a wide range.
3/ I also did a fair amount of reading. I won't summarize it all- but this book was by far the best. Would recommend it to anyone going through a transition of any kind (moving, changing jobs, divorce, death), or supporting someone who is:

amazon.com/Transitions-Ma…
Read 20 tweets
Ryan Caldbeck Profile picture
9 Feb
1/ I love this question and I believe it's much harder than most CEOs think initially. I think teammates of varying backgrounds and learning styles absorb complex information differently- and I've found that discussing strategy as a team is not straightforward for most.
2/ I am a fan of talking about it frequently and in different formats. As CEO I tried to do it every 6 weeks as a co and for the formats to change. Sometimes presentation, sometimes fireside Q&A, sometimes panel w/ heads of teams talking about strategy, small and large groups etc
3/ The repetition helped teammates absorb, think about it and have it ingrained. They also could see evolutions over time- which are inevitable for a startup- and not have those iterations feel like giant pivots (as they may if only talked about strategy 1x-2x per yr)
Read 6 tweets
Ryan Caldbeck Profile picture
9 Feb
1/ One of the more helpful frameworks I’ve seen as an operator and investor was taught to me by one of our advisors a few yrs ago. When there is a problem, try diagnosing from the top down:

Mission
Vision
Strategy
Culture
People
Tactics
Product
Distribution
Sales
Marketing
2/ The original framework is applicable for a certain type of biz. What I show above is my adaptation for startups. I like using this when there is confusion or misalignment. Basic concept is to start at top and see if there is alignment. If yes move to vision, then strategy etc.
3/ Eventually (often higher than the we would like to hear) the misalignment is identified. While we think we are talking about a difference in [Sales] tactics, it turns out there is actually a difference in [Strategy] alignment.
Read 7 tweets
Ryan Caldbeck Profile picture
27 Jan
Fantastic episode of the @RebootHQ podcast with @chaddickerson and @jerrycolonna

Two quick observations:

reboot.libsyn.com/140-from-heart…
1) I feel deep gratitude to Chad for being willing to open up about his experience. It would have been so easy to listen to advisors/PR folks and not talk about his genuine experience.
Him opening up I am sure has helped countless others normalize their own struggles.

That’s particularly generous given the incredible status he has earned. Thank you @chaddickerson
Read 6 tweets
Ryan Caldbeck Profile picture
31 Dec 20
1/ Equity crowdfunding or equity investment marketplaces failed. Full stop. Didn’t work.

Here is my synopsis on why the industry hasn’t taken off. Lots of reflection and painful lessons I hope others can learn from.
2/ Reason #1: The financial feedback loop for vc takes yrs. If you want one core reason the industry has not succeeded, it is this. Time between when an investor writes a check and gets confidence she should write again- is way too long to encourage repeat investment
3/ If you are ever at a YC event and some entrepreneur pitches you on a marketplace that helps private companies raise money…..ask how they will solve this issue.

[imagine being at a cocktail event again?]
Read 31 tweets
Ryan Caldbeck Profile picture
27 Dec 20
1/ “Unilever for the 21st century.” I’ve gotten that pitch almost 1x a week for the past few yrs. I believe in concept but haven’t seen the execution yet.

Here is what I think about the ideas and what I think still needs to be figured out.
2/ First - almost everyone I’ve seen has a similar pitch on the problem to be solved. Massive market with stale incumbents that can’t innovate, yet consumers demand innovation. Incumbents focused on profitability > R&D while consumers are asking for personalized products
3/ And so the enterprising founder sees a massive industry and stale incumbents and says “I can build Unilever for the 21st century. New fresh brands, build it first on d2c so I’m not encumbered by legacy brands or retailer relationships.”
Read 31 tweets

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