Audrey Nesbitt, a seasoned CEO with over 25 years of experience scaling emerging tech companies, is urging founders to reconsider one of business’s most entrenched beliefs: that the person who builds a product should automatically lead the company.
In her new book, Why You Shouldn’t Be the CEO (And Other Ways to Save Your Startup), Nesbitt pulls back the curtain on the human leadership mistakes that, more often than not, lead to startup failure.
Through a combination of hard data and behavioral insights, Nesbitt examines why technical brilliance, in the absence of strategic leadership, often becomes a company’s greatest liability. She highlights the key pitfalls that derail startups, everything from failing to validate product-market fit and making poor cofounder choices, to the deadly consequences of micromanaging during scaling.
The Silent Killer: Founder Behavior
Nesbitt’s book underscores a grim statistic: 90% of startups fail (Startup Genome, 2019), and 65% of those failures are due to founder conflict (Wasserman, 2012). It’s not market competition or product flaws that bring most companies down, she argues, but the founder’s inability to adapt their leadership style as their business grows.
In fact, research shows that 42% of startups fail due to a lack of market need (CB Insights), and 35% of companies experience cofounder breakups (Icehouse Ventures, 2018). The stakes are high, yet many founders don’t even realize that their own behavior could be the root cause of their company’s downfall.
As Nesbitt points out, “Most founders never question whether they should be CEO. They assume that building the company means they should run it. That assumption destroys more startups than bad ideas ever will.”
Drawing from her extensive experience leading SPINNOVATE Tech, a company at the forefront of fintech, blockchain, and AI, Nesbitt has seen firsthand how technical founders often mistake innovation for leadership. She argues that many founders, particularly in the tech industry, get caught in the trap of perfectionism and obsessive control, all while failing to validate whether their products actually meet market needs.
Leadership: The Invisible Bottleneck
In her book, Nesbitt delves into several key areas where founder behavior often sabotages startup success.
One of the most significant mistakes, she explains, is ignoring market feedback and building products nobody wants. Many founders, in their rush to perfect their product, miss the crucial step of market validation. Without this, even the most technically advanced solutions can fail to gain traction.
Another common pitfall Nesbitt highlights is the tendency for cofounders to engage in conflicts that result in deadlocked decision-making. When equity splits and differing visions are left unaddressed, it often leads to a lack of direction, slowing down growth. Founder conflicts can be even more damaging when they turn into long-term power struggles, which in turn stifle progress.
The next major issue Nesbitt addresses is perfectionism. Founders can become so obsessed with making their product flawless that they delay launches and miss opportunities to learn from real users. The constant desire to improve can lead to paralysis, where the startup never moves beyond the prototype phase.
As Nesbitt puts it, “The market doesn’t care about your technical elegance. It cares about solving problems it actually has, in ways it can understand, at moments when it’s ready to buy.”
The Dangers Of Micromanaging
One of the most dangerous habits Nesbitt identifies in founders is micromanagement. The belief that “If I don’t do it, it won’t get done right” is a trap that many founders fall into, and it can have devastating consequences. By insisting on overseeing every decision, founders inadvertently prevent others from stepping up and growing as leaders within the organization.
“True control isn’t about direct involvement,” Nesbitt explains. “It’s about creating the environment, culture, and systems that produce excellence regardless of your presence.”
Her advice to CEOs is straightforward: delegate early, give team members ownership over outcomes, and create clear decision-making frameworks that allow the team to execute effectively with minimal oversight.
Remember, the goal isn’t to remove yourself from the business entirely, but to create a structure where the company can thrive without constant intervention from the founder.
Case Studies: Real-World Lessons In Leadership & Growth
Nesbitt uses several high-profile case studies to illustrate how critical leadership decisions can determine the fate of a startup.
For instance, Jawbone, despite its innovative products and close to a billion dollars in funding, collapsed because its focus on tech innovation didn’t align with market needs. Similarly, the legal battle between Mark Zuckerberg and the Winklevoss twins over Facebook’s origins highlights the importance of early cofounder alignment and the risks of unresolved conflict.
Nesbitt also references Google’s successful leadership transition when Larry Page and Sergey Brin stepped down, showing how evolving leadership is crucial as companies scale. On the flip side, Uber’s troubles with Travis Kalanick’s resignation, due to internal conflict and a toxic culture, demonstrate how poor leadership can derail even the most successful companies.
Should You Be The CEO?
Perhaps the most provocative question Nesbitt asks in her book is: Are you the best possible CEO for your company right now?
In the early stages, a hands-on founder is essential. However, as the company grows, it’s critical to reassess whether the founder’s skills are the right fit for the next phase. Nesbitt introduces the “Five-Point CEO Self-Assessment” to help leaders evaluate whether they should continue as CEO or hand the reins over to someone better equipped for scaling.
This decision, she emphasizes, is not a sign of failure but a strategic move to ensure the company’s long-term survival and success.
The Importance Of Timing In Scaling
Nesbitt also stresses the importance of timing, especially in fast-moving fields like Web3, blockchain, and AI. No matter how groundbreaking a product is, if the market isn’t ready for it, the company is doomed to fail.
Reflecting on a Web3 social platform she worked on that was “years ahead of its time,” Nesbitt warns, “When technical possibility meets market reality, market reality always wins.”
A New Era Of Leadership For Tech Founders
In her book, Nesbitt offers a roadmap for founders who want to scale their companies sustainably.
She argues that true leadership is about building systems, culture, and teams that operate without the founder’s constant presence. “The best product doesn’t win,” she asserts. “The best-marketed product wins.”
For founders, the path to success isn’t about creating the perfect product or making flawless decisions, but about designing a business that thrives beyond the founder’s day-to-day involvement.
About Audrey Nesbitt
Audrey Nesbitt is a respected leader in emerging technologies, specializing in fintech, blockchain, and AI. As CEO of SPINNOVATE Tech, she has launched and scaled multiple successful Web3 and AI products.
In addition to being a PMP-certified professional and holding an MBA from Heriot-Watt University, Audrey has also been nominated for the Women in IT Award for Tech Startup of the Year in 2023 and Outstanding Leadership in the Marketing Conference in 2024.
A mentor to women in technology and a vocal advocate for diversity and inclusion, Nesbitt is actively shaping the future of tech leadership. Her new book, Why You Shouldn’t Be the CEO (And Other Ways to Save Your Startup), is available now in both paperback and digital formats.
For more information about Audrey Nesbitt and her work, visit her official website.
Source: https://thenewscrypto.com/audrey-nesbitts-new-book-urges-founders-to-rethink-leadership/
