CEOs are often the biggest obstacle to rapid growth!

This is because they can make it hard for new ideas to be put into action. The first reason is obvious—when a CEO insists on personally approving every decision. But the second reason is even more interesting.

A CEO can hinder a company's progress when they are the only one with a critical skill. There are some responsibilities that naturally fall on them, like fundraising or hiring key employees. But if the skill is essential to the company's success, it needs to be used frequently. And the faster the startup grows, the more often it's required—eventually overwhelming a single person, no matter how capable.

The takeaway here is counterintuitive. The best thing to do is to hire people who can do the same job as the founders. Instead, they should be hiring people who can do the same job as the founders so that the founders don't get in the way of the business.

This means being willing to let go of the idea that "I'm the only one who can do this well".