Can ex-founder CEOs join other startups after leaving their businesses?
I love Nic Yeeles’s story of reinventing his career to become a VP of Product. Today, he’s on his third VP of Product job at Resi, so we can say the career move was a success, but there’s more to it. As an ex-CEO, in all his C-level roles, he was the right-hand man to the CEO, offering a holistic perspective on the business as a founder himself.
The transition to the first VP of Product role wasn’t straightforward. Nic explains how he had to “fake it till you make it,” swallowing books and learning fast to outperform other candidates during interviews who might have had years of experience in the product department.
This story is fun—Nic is a great storyteller—but it will also be useful to any founder looking for inspiration and advice on how to transition from founder-CEO to C-level executive at another business.
Timestamps
(Clickable on YouTube)
00:00 Introduction
02:30 Founding and Exiting Peg
04:54 Founding a Climate Impact Startup
08:16 Trying a Consulting Role
11:16 The Ex-CEO Advantage
13:42 Choosing the Next Career Step
17:47 Interviewing for a Role You Never Performed
22:51 Navigating Cultural Alignment
25:44 Power of Personal Networks
28:07 Joining Resi as a VP Product
31:12 The Challenge of Identity Shift
32:53 Working with Non-Founder C-Level Executives
35:21 The Value of Entrepreneurial Skills
37:04 The Costs of Not Starting Another Business
38:34 Choosing Startups Over Large Companies
40:39 Considering Freelance and Advisory Roles
41:53 Lessons Learned
53:34 Hiring Ex-entrepreneurs
58:03 Final Thoughts and Takeaways
Share this post