Re: boltar Re: Whatever you do, don't let lead dev be CEO
".....it turned out OK for Gates and Ellison....." Those are the two examples that do spring to mind, but then they were opening new fields rather than entering and competing with established competitors. From my own experience, the startups that I have seen actually get out of startup mode and make some money all made one key decision - they put one actual businessperson in charge. Far too many startups, and small companies, especially those created by groups of friends, fail to install a single person with overall authority. And whilst they may all start out agreeing, it seems common for partners to start diverging in both expectations and actions, and then it dissolves into acrimony, finger-pointing and disaster. And the simple truth is, IMHO, hard-core devs make poor businesspeople.
Another key point I'd suggest is make sure the startup you join is going to be a business, not a hobby. I have seen startups where the staff think they are signed on for the next Microsoft, only to find out the CEO is simply looking for something to fill his days until his pension matures. I had a friend who realized this after he had poured three years of his life into a startup and nearly stuffed his marriage, only for the CEO/owner to then refuse to go the next logical step and seek capital investment because the CEO/owner was worried about "losing control and direction of his baby".