Leadership Team

Small, Lean Team
At the Startup stage, your leadership “team” might be just you and one or two co-founders. You might have a technical lead (CTO or Head of Development) and someone overseeing product or design. Each person wears many hats. There are no true “heads of” marketing or sales yet, just dedicated individuals who handle those tasks on top of other responsibilities.

Cross-Functional Responsibilities
Because roles overlap, the lines between leadership and individual contributors are blurred. The key members are doers first, managers second. You need people who can drive product vision, handle operational tasks, and jump in on support calls. The biggest value from your leaders: they bring a “get it done” mentality.

CEO’s Gaps
At this stage, you (the CEO) are not delegating all the daily tasks. You simply can’t. You still do the majority of external fundraising pitches, major customer meetings, and product direction. However, you do rely on your co-founders or early hires to cover the areas where you lack expertise—be it coding, UI design, or financial modeling.