Today's Question
What small-business owners think.
As Sarah Max reports in an article we’ve just published, Mark McDonald and Josiah Humphrey started developing and optimizing websites as teenagers, skipped college and started their web and mobile app company, Appster, in 2011. They eschewed outside funding and put what little money they had into office space, setting up shop in downtown Melbourne, Australia, right next to Google and IBM. And then they settled into their shared role as chief executive officers.
So far at least, the arrangement seems to be working. In three years, the co-C.E.O.s have expanded the company to $10 million in annual revenue and 110 employees, and they are in the process of adding 50 to 60 employees this quarter. While the two chief executives are not opposed to bringing in a professional C.E.O. eventually, they think there are more benefits than pitfalls to working side by side for now. “We think we’ve achieved these results because there are two of us, not in spite of it,” Mr. McDonald said.
What do you think? Please read the article and tell us if you have had any experience with an organization run by multiple leaders.