Essays/linkedin/24-01-25 kings or rich

<p>There are two types of startup founders: 🤑 Rich and 🤴🏼Kings. The first prioritize money over control, while the latter want to stay on top of the company development.</p> <p>There is no right or wrong, it's two different styles that will create different tensions across the founding team. </p> <p>There are some cases (like Bill Gates) that managed to become rich kings, but they are the outliers. </p> <p>The majority of founders align with one or the other strategy for their company. </p> <p>Becoming "rich", or "king" is associated to what decisions are prioritized. </p> <p>A longer-term plan at a delayed return. </p> <p>A quicker exit at a higher valuation. </p> <p>If you have to pick one, king or rich, which one would you pick?</p> <p>-- These ideas are very nicely discussed in "The Founders Dilemmas", a book I strongly recommend to any founder, regardless of their experience. </p> <p><img alt="Pasted image 20240124125332.png" class="wikiimage" src="/pasted image 20240124125332.png" /></p>