Jason M. Lemkin says SaaS founders should hire a COO earlier than they usually do. Once you have more than eight direct reports, a strong COO can take ownership of half of them, freeing you to focus on what only you can do.
Idea number two related to the prior, but hire a CEO maybe earlier than you thought. And what is a CEO in SaaS? It's an amorphous title. The truth is, a CEO is someone that can own half of your direct reports. Like as a, as a, as a CEO or even as a cto. But as a founder, the most reports you can really own is 8. More than that is just just too much. And what if you could cleave off half and have someone else manage those hires? If they're good, that can take a lot off your plate. But in any event, someone that can at least own 20 to 40% of your reports can really take something off your plate. Even if you're not sure if you need a coo, it's really your number two, or in Star Trek parlance, your number one. Go find your Riker or whomever and give yourself find the budget to make that higher.
