There comes a time in every technical entrepreneur's life when you have to decide if you are capable or even interested in running the leadership side of your startup as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). To help you with this decision, I suggest you look hard for the best candidate with the techniques described in this section, always including yourself in the list of candidates.

If you don't measure up or are not interested, there is no shame in taking the role that you are best suited for, such as the CTO, and let someone else run the business. You will have more fun, and the business will more likely succeed. As the founder and majority owner, it's better to own a large share of a successful business rather than all of a failing one.

To find the best CEO candidates, it makes logical sense to scour the job boards, engage an executive recruiter, or scan networking sites such as LinkedIn for a good array of candidates, and then interview...