start a company It’s a big deal, and taking on the role of CEO to move the company forward is an important choice. Some founders are able to lead their startup through the entire process of company building.if you look List of the most valuable companies in the worldHowever, you’ll notice that the top of a tech company isn’t always the original founder.
If you’ve spent any time doing boardroom work — or if you’re talking to seasoned VCs — you’ll realize that it’s not uncommon for startups to switch CEOs, though it’s rarely discussed publicly. Private companies are generally not obliged to announce leadership changes after boardrooms close.
Still, choosing to relinquish control of a startup you’ve been bleeding, sweating, and tearing up is a hell of a decision. I interviewed a CEO who went through this transition a few months ago to find out how he came to this decision.
“I’ve been in healthcare pretty much my entire adult life,” says the company’s founder, Troy Bannister. particle health. “I was an EMT when I was 18.” In college, he switched majors, from business to pre-med, before working at a venture capital accelerator called StartUp Health. “I met hundreds, maybe thousands, of entrepreneurs who were building healthcare startups. I saw Plaid, Stripe, and Twilio, and I thought: why isn’t there an API model for clinical data? So I started Particle.”
Troy Bannister recently stepped down as CEO of the company he founded, Particle Health. Image Source: particle health
The company either had foresight or luck.this Anti-Blocking Rules that’s part of 21st Century Cures Act Meaning patients have access to their information. It also means that startups working in this space need a way to securely request and securely store information. That’s where Particle finds its niche: connecting the health records of 320 million people and making them available to anyone who needs them.
Five years later, however, Bannister realized something was amiss. He raised a Series B round from scratch and grew the company to 65 employees, about 50 customers, and a clear readiness for a Series C round in the next few years. But now faced with a difficult choice: Is he the right man to be CEO of the company’s next phase?
