Most software founders think about growing a “big enough” company and selling it someday. Win a prize and go back to creating and building.
After growing a successful bootstrapped software business to $5M or $10M ARR, many founders just get tired or bored.
Or they don’t like the “scale up” game, running a bigger factory every day. They want to keep inventing and building, especially with new AI tools.
This is when most founders think about selling their companies.
But there’s another less-obvious option that is even better for many practical founders.
Tighe Burke is the founder of srch., a boutique executive search firm that helps SaaS founders replace themselves as CEO without selling their companies.
After years in large executive recruiting firms, Tighe built a practice focused on founders who want their business to keep growing while they step back from day-to-day leadership.
Tighe works with profitable software companies, typically in the $5M–$50M revenue range, helping founders hire experienced and scrappy operators who have already scaled businesses into the next phase.
His team has completed more than 75 executive searches for tech founders, often placing CEOs who take full P&L ownership while founders move into chairman, product, or portfolio roles.
This “don’t sell, hire a new CEO” approach is proven, but it’s not commonly considered by founders, as Tighe explains:
“There are three doors as a founder entrepreneur. Door #1 is keep running your business. Maybe you love your business. Door #2 is to exit the business and sell your company when you either get a good multiple or, if the time is right, a good buyer. “
“Door #3 is where we come in. Hopefully, your business cash generating asset for you. Many founders think of their businesses that way. Some people who like start their own company, it’s their baby, it defines who they are. That’s great. But if for any reason you’re feeling angst or like you think someone can get past 10 million when you’ve really struggled there, that’s probably true.
“Let’s bring in somebody else, an operator, a big O operator to run the business, to own the P &L, to make strategic decisions, to hire, to fire, to do all the things that you probably don’t really like anymore. You don’t have to sell the business.
“You can actually get a bigger multiple later on by having a strong management team in place if that is something you choose. And you get your life back. can be with your family. You can start another business. You can advise, invest, or kind of do whatever you want.”
In this week’s episode, we dig into when hiring a CEO makes sense, how compensation and incentives really work, and what founders must let go of for this transition to succeed.
Check out this episode with Tighe Burke on the Practical Founders Podcast.
