That's true once the company reaches critical mass. Before that, the CEO does everything from setting the strategy and recruiting talent, to piping cables and making sure the pixels line up just right.

No, before that, you don't have a position called "CEO." You just have a "business guy."

Or in the case of the original post, a developer / business guy.

Definitely true that when you're starting you have to do it all yourself, and the mix changes as the business grows.

But the way I interpret it is that 'everything' can be lumped into 3 buckets

- right idea (product, strategy, business model)

- right execution (good processes, making sure there is always cash in the bank, and you take off before you run out of runway)

- right communication - selling it, not just to customers, but to recruits, investors, and strategic partners