Startup Execs Harder To Come By?

from the no-desire-to-take-risks dept

While VCs are back to funding startups, without a really hot IPO market, it seems that many startups are having difficulty attracting top-notch executives. At least that's what the article suggests. Apparently, execs don't necessarily want to jump on the next hot thing, without some form of stability (read: more cash) or a higher likelihood of an IPO (read: potential for a lot more cash). Of course, it sounds like some of the requirements companies are putting out are a bit stringent. I agree that experienced execs are very useful to startups, but too often it seems that startups look for the perfect exec who has done exactly the same thing in the past. Those candidates aren't always the best. They may have gotten lucky in a previous startup and now feel they know everything, while a smarter, hungrier less "experienced" exec may be able to do more to drive a startup forward. Either way, if the IPO market takes off again, it's likely these missing startup execs will return -- and that might not be a good thing. A startup exec who jumps ship just because of the opportunity for a big cash payout isn't always going to be the best person to help build a sustainable company. You want someone who believes in the long-term potential of the company and its vision -- not the short-term potential of an IPO.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  1. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 15 Sep 2004 @ 5:33pm

    No Subject Given

    The problem here is that investors feel that it's important to have big-wig executives in high positions. The whole system is geared around having those people. Now, in the two startups I've been in, they didn't actually bring any significant value... but people think they will and that's almost a value in itself.

    It's a screwy system.

    link to this | view in thread ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.