Whitepaper: 'founder-CEO hybrid' profiles.

Our TOP10 essential skills and competencies for an entrepreneurial CEO.

In addition to leadership qualities, growth-oriented transitions and international scaling also require a deep understanding of operational, financial, and strategic aspects, as well as the ability to collaborate effectively with investors and the team. Below, we outline our key insights and recommendations in terms of essential skills and competencies:

1. Strategic and financial acumen

· Long-term vision and strategy development: Cultivate the ability to design a vision and strategic roadmap, communicate it inspiringly, gain organizational buy-in, and implement it with discipline. All of this should aim at sustainable value creation (shareholder capitalism vs. stakeholder capitalism) while staying mindful of short-term realities.

· Financial literacy: Develop a deep understanding of financial structures, financing models, cash flow management, and analysis to ensure the financial health of a growth-oriented company.

· Business valuation and Due Diligence (DD): Thorough knowledge of financial and operational due diligence is essential for accurately assessing business valuation, risks, and opportunities.

· Balance risk-taking with pragmatism: Drive calculated risk-taking—bold enough to move the needle, but grounded in data and planning. Surround yourself with advisors who challenge your thinking and help you balance ambition with realism.

2. Fundraising and investor management

· Fundraising strategy and pitching skills: A must-have for any CEO of a growth-company is expertise in crafting a clear fundraising strategy, paired with the ability to deliver compelling pitches that are also comprehensible to diverse stakeholders, including non-technical investors, in for example, a high-tech environment. This process most often takes place in close collaboration with a CFO.

· Networking and building investor relationships: Build strong connections with investors, refine your pitch, and leverage their insights and networks in your strategic thinking.

· Negotiation Skills: Develop robust negotiation skills to achieve optimal terms and effectively align stakeholders with the company objectives.

3. Inspirational people management and visionary leadership

· Visionary leadership: Dedicate time to exploring what’s next for your company. Share these possibilities to inspire creativity across the organization.

· People person: An authentic, emotionally intelligent attitude that allows a CEO to genuinely connect with others is essential in today’s business context. In a world where relationships and trust are becoming increasingly crucial for success, the ability to communicate effectively and empathetically is a must.

· Cultural leadership: Cultivate an inspiring and inclusive company culture with a DNA of ingrained values that motivate employees, even during rapid growth and times of uncertainty.

· Change management and a growth mindset: It is crucial to foster a team culture where shared goals are central, changes are embraced, and a growth mindset is encouraged. By supporting employees in this, you build a strong foundation for sustainable growth within the organization.

· Mentorship and talent development: Nowadays, it’s not just about the ability to attract top talent, but also about developing and retaining it to build a strong, engaged, and accountable high-performing team.

4. Product roadmap and innovation management

· Vision on product/service strategy: The ability to develop a clear and inspiring product and service vision that aligns with the company’s long-term strategy and customer needs is key. Creating a product roadmap that balances short-term functionalities with long-term strategic investments, tailored to the company’s growth phase.

· Innovation culture & stakeholder alignment: Create a safe environment with space for ideas, creative suggestions, and room for making mistakes. Regularly align with product teams, marketing, and sales to ensure that the product roadmap is consistent with market needs and business objectives.

· Product development and customer focus: Integrate data insights and customer feedback to build a customer-centric and data-driven roadmap that fosters innovation and delivers value.

5. Operational and strategic leadership

· Process optimization and business operations: Optimize and automate core processes, and establish scalable structures to support efficiency and growth through operational excellence. Use technology and AI where necessary.

· Product-market fit and growth: Continuously evaluate the product-market fit to adjust strategies in response to the ever-changing market dynamics and customer needs.

· Data analysis and pragmatic decision-making: Find the right balance between gut-feeling or intuition and making data-driven decisions, from product development to customer acquisition and cost management.

· Executional discipline and project management: Ensure consistent, disciplined application of processes, tactics, and strategies to effectively achieve set goals & business outcomes. Establish a Project Management Office (PMO) or ensure the capability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and deliver results on time.

6. Stakeholder management and governance

· Stakeholder alignment and transparency: Always align goals with various stakeholders and communicate clearly & proactively about KPIs and performance, in both good and bad times. Avoid “unpleasant” surprises.

· Corporate governance and efficient structures: Ensure the establishment of solid yet pragmatic governance structures that promote stability and growth.

· Crisis management and scenario planning: The ability to respond swiftly to unexpected challenges and crises, and to provide clear leadership in difficult times is crucial.

· Networking: Allocate sufficient time to actively build and maintain relationships with investors, partners, customers, and other stakeholders. “Your network is your net worth!”

· Negotiation: The skill to conduct effective negotiations and the ability to reach constructive win-win solutions can make a significant difference.

7. International scaling

· Strategic insight: Internationalization should be a strategic choice, not an opportunistic one. First, ensure your company has a solid business foundation in the form of scalable operations, processes, and (infrastructure) structures, but preferably without losing the speed and agility of your nimble organization. Also, be aware that expansion costs money!

· Holistic market analysis and validation: The ability to quickly understand new markets and adapt your product or service offering accordingly. Research the demand for your product or service in the target markets, local economic market dynamics, competition, the best go-to-market model, distribution and logistical challenges, regulations, and whether any product adjustments are necessary to meet local needs.

· Intercultural communication and leadership: Successfully setting up and leading (remote) teams in different markets requires skills to effectively bridge cultural differences and ensure consistent communication. The biggest challenges lie in promoting team cohesion and engagement across language and cultural barriers, and implementing leadership strategies that align with local customs without losing sight of the core values of the organization.

8. Customer intimacy, commercial skills and market insight

· Foster customer intimacy: Build close relationships with customers that empowers businesses to anticipate their needs and deliver innovative solutions. Actively engage with customers and embed those insights into your strategic decision-making.

· Competitive analysis and market trends: Keep a close eye on market developments and recognize competition patterns so that you can continuously align and refine your product and customer strategies accordingly.

· Go-to-Market strategies: Ensure that, as a CEO, you have solid knowledge of customer-focused sales and marketing strategies to drive the organization's growth. Collaborate in developing the Go-To-Market plans, ensuring they are scalable and focused on sustainable customer relationships and brand loyalty

· Customer focus & co-creation: Ensure an optimal customer experience from A to Z, and encourage a culture of co-creation and continuous innovation to stay relevant and develop new ideas (both products and services).

9. Personal skills and an ownership mindset

· Entrepreneurial mindset and adaptability: A proactive and agile mindset, with the ability to continuously learn and adapt quickly, is a big plus for a CEO, as these traits are essential for recognizing opportunities and finding innovative solutions in a dynamic environment.

· Cultivate an ownership mindset: Radiate accountability, and instill a sense of ownership (and urgency) across teams, emphasize shared responsibility for success.

· Resilience and perseverance: Develop a high level of perseverance to overcome challenges and setbacks time and again.

· Integrity and ethical leadership: An ethical and transparent approach that builds trust with employees and investors is a no-brainer!

· Flexibility: Safeguard the agility of your organization so that you can quickly respond to changes in the market or organization, and remain open to new approaches or different perspectives and viewpoints.

· Problem-solving ability: Demonstrate accountability and creative thinking, aiming for (innovative) solutions to complex challenges. Lead by example.

10. Communication skills

· Interpersonal communication: Communicating effectively and inspiringly with various stakeholders, including investors, employees, and customers, makes a world of difference. Stay authentic to create maximum enthusiasm and buy-in.

· Presentation skills: Ensure that you can present your ideas and strategies convincingly and explain them clearly & easy to understand to investors and partners.

In this brief whitepaper, we have attempted to outline the key competencies for an entrepreneurial CEO focusing on growth-oriented transitions, international expansion, and scenarios such as MBI, MBO, or Buy & Build processes.

It is important to emphasize that the necessary skills and competencies may vary depending on the specific sector, the stage a company is in, or from one culture to another. For instance, a CEO in the technology sector will likely require different priorities and skills compared to someone in more traditional industries. Furthermore, the challenges faced by a CEO leading a startup will differ markedly from those of a CEO managing an SME or family business in a more established growth phase.

For every CEO, investing in the right skills and leveraging the insights from this guide will enable them to navigate complex transitions more effectively, paving the way for sustainable growth and value creation in a constantly changing market.

With the right blend and combination of strategic, operational, and personal skills, an entrepreneurial CEO can realize their vision and make a lasting impact within their company, and the broader market or society as a whole.

It is our observation that, in today’s fast-evolving business landscape, the most successful entrepreneurial CEOs are those who seamlessly blend the visionary spark of a founder with the strategic discipline of seasoned leadership, something we subtly refer to as 'founder-CEO hybrid' profiles.

Drawing from our extensive experience, expertise, and international network, we at Cross International aim to guide founders, CEOs, and investors as effectively as possible in this area.

If you would like an informal sounding board to discuss your competencies, internationalization strategies, or growth plans, feel free to contact Bart Verreydt , Managing Partner at Cross International , at +32 479 54 50 24 or at bart.verreydt@crossint.eu