When does a startup founder need a COO?
A topic we don’t talk about on Mixergy is how to actually manage a company. I remember when I was in NYU as an undergrad I loved all my business classes, but management just didn’t feel like me.
I always thought of the guys in Dilbert but entrepreneurs were the ones who were creating, the ones who were doing. Mixergy’s grown and I’ve been running it, but I have to be honest, I’m not doing a great job of running it.
So earlier in the year, the Mixergy team said, “Andrew, go get a COO.” They kept challenging me. One of things that they told me to do was to talk to Cameron Herold.
Cameron Herold was Chief Operating Officer at 1-800-GOT-JUNK? He is also the founder of the COO Alliance, the world’s only organization for those who are second in command.
Cameron Herold was Chief Operating Officer at 1-800-GOT-JUNK? He is also the founder of the COO Alliance, the world’s only organization for those who are second in command.
Andrew: Hey, everyone, my name is Andrew Warner. I’m the founder Mixergy where I interview entrepreneurs about how they built their businesses, and I’m struggling with something. This interview is not like usual interviews that I do. Usually, you guys know, I interview entrepreneurs about the step by step, where they got their ideas, about the challenges that they had finding their first customers, and later on it’s about hiring.
What we don’t talk about is some of the specifics of actually managing a company. I remember even frankly, when I was in NYU as an undergrad studying business classes, I loved them all, but management just didn’t feel like me. I always thought of the management part of business as like the guys in Dilbert that you laughed at. And entrepreneurs were the ones who were creating, the ones who were doing, and then there were other doers in the organization, but running a company felt like something for bigger businesses...
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