Strategy 1: Funnel founders towards non-CEO positions

While founders add the most value as CEOs in the early years of a firm’s development, by the six-year mark, they become more valuable in non-CEO positions, such as CTO or a board seat. Of course, six years is just an average — the optimal timing will vary substantially based on the specific situation.

But in general, encouraging a founder-CEO to transition to another role within the organization enables the firm to benefit from new top management while still leveraging the founder’s deep knowledge about the organization in an advisory capacity.