Like I get that everyone does stuff at a startup, but are you really a 'CEO' if the business isnt even big enough for someone to be dedicated to building out the business yet.
I dont even know if i have a point, but i dont really think anyone is going to read this and go 'of course! all this time i shouldve been a CEO instead of not being a CEO'
The end result was, predictably, fucking terrible. I still can't decide whether to laugh, cringe, or break something when I think about those screens.
I don't work there anymore, but she continued to do this after the company had 15 employees and substantial revenue (I left as soon as I could).
So yes, some CEOs are totally unable to delegate or see past their own arrogance, and they continue to do grunt work when they shouldn't. Some of them (like my old employer) are even successful despite making that mistake.
Not just for CEOs, but for anyone in a role of management. Delegation is good, but incredibly frustrating when delegating a task that takes one's self 5 hours, but 20 hours for someone else with a worse end result. That's where coaching (and remembering how bad you were yourself at some point) comes in, but when deadlines are tight, few people have the ability to let go.
And as another commenter states, letting go can't be done at the start. Natural born CEOs are not people that don't do anything by themselves.
I am reminded, however, simple advice to always hire someone better than you and learn from them. They may not be better in all respects, but always hire someone that is better in some regard.