Archive for the ‘Interim COO’ Category
15 October 2011
When I was signing up for this year’s unConference, I was reminded how last year’s event was great because of the impromptu breakout sessions where it was fair game to discuss controversial subjects. I wish every founding CEO could have been at last year’s session titled, “How founding CEOs can transition from visionary to leader.” Though that was the title, it was clear from the get-go that this session was really about, “How founding CEOs can avoid getting fired before they ever make that transition from visionary to leader.” Eric Paley and Katie Rae, the session leaders, did a great job covering this controversial subject, focusing on solutions to this common problem.
For the last decade, I have been “up close and personal” with the subject of founding CEOs getting fired. As interim CEO at a half dozen companies I bridged the gap after a founding CEO was let go by his investors. And as interim COO at another half dozen companies I helped the founding CEO endure the pressures of their job. (As one founding CEO said when he called asking for help, “Des, I’m one Board meeting away from getting fired. Can you give me a hand?”)
In last year’s unConference session, people had many reasons why founding CEOs get fired “early and often.” The reasons that resonated with me are: (more…)
Posted in Bill Warner, Bouzha Cookman, Change Agent, Des Pieri, Desmond Pieri, Eric Paley, Founding CEO, Interim COO, Interim Management, Katie Ray, Mark Zuckerberg, MassTLC, Uncategorized, unConference, Venture Capital | Leave a Comment »
15 December 2010
Since summer, I’ve been interim COO at RelayRides, the world’s first neighbor-to-neighbor carsharing service. I work for founding CEO Shelby Clark. Yesterday we announced funding from August Capital and Google Ventures.
RelayRides is an innovative twist on the traditional carsharing model, ala Zipcar. I believe our business model will have an important impact on the young and rapidly growing $12.5B global carsharing industry. Adding neighbor-to-neighbor carsharing to a community with traditional carsharing is one of those instances when one plus one equals more than two, as detailed here.
RelayRides is a perfect example of Collaborative Consumption. Rather than putting new cars on the road like other carsharing services, RelayRides goes the eco-friendly route by leveraging existing, often idle autos. Neighbors help each other. Car owners recover some of the costs of owning an expensive asset while they simultaneously provide a new, convenient transportation option for their neighbors in need of a car.
After operating in Cambridge for six months, Tuesday we launched our second city, San Francisco, generating a slew of great press.
Posted in August Capital, Carsharing, Collaborative Consumption, Des Pieri, Desmond Pieri, Google Ventures, Howard Hartenbaum, Interim COO, Interim Management, Joe Kraus, Neighbor-to-neighbor, Person-to-person, San Francisco, The Mesh; Why the Future of Business is Sharing, What's Mine is Yours, Zipcar | 1 Comment »
23 October 2010
Scott Kirsner’s article about Thursday night’s MassChallenge awards ceremony is a great summary of what’s good about starting and growing a business in Massachusetts. I loved his comment,
When Shelby Clark, [founding CEO of neighbor-to-neighbor carsharing company RelayRides] headed back to his table after being presented his check for $50,000, I was standing next to Scott Griffith, the CEO of [traditional carsharing company] Zipcar, who is preparing to take his Cambridge company public. Clark looked over to Griffith and caught his eye. That’s the kind of Massachusetts I want to live in: one that is (more…)
Posted in Car Sharing, Carsharing, Collaborative Consumption, Des Pieri, Desmond Pieri, Innovation Economy, Interim CEO, Interim COO, MassChallenge, Neighbor-to-neighbor, Peer-to-Peer, Relay Rides, RelayRides, Scot Kirsner, Scott Griffith, Shelby Clark, Uncategorized, Zipcar | 1 Comment »
9 October 2010
Answer: When they focus on efficiency, not time.
I advise young founding CEOs, either in my role as interim COO or as a “CEO Coach.” A common issue they raise is their frustration with an employee who does not work incredibly long hours. I struggled with this until I recalled that, when I was their age, I felt the same way! I’ve been managing since I was 23 and, for about a decade, I too was impressed with an employee who worked the longest hours.
But then I hired Chris Pooley and he taught me that (more…)
Posted in A Better Way?, CEO Coach, Chris Pooley, Founding CEO, Interim, Interim CEO, Interim COO, long hours, Startups, Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
11 September 2010
Through the MassChallenge Mentoring Program, I’ve been spending three hours each week advising RelayRides, a company with a great idea – peer-to-peer car sharing – that’s smack in the middle of a strong new movement, Collaborative Consumption as written about in The Economist and by Leigh Buchanan in Inc, Clive Thompson in Wired, and Jenna Wortham in The New York Times.
Late on Tuesday, the founder, Shelby Clark said, “Instead of just advising me, why don’t you just join us to accelerate our growth?” After a handshake agreement, I started that day as part-time interim COO. By 9 PM I was reminded that what it takes to turn a great idea into a successful company is (more…)
Posted in Car Sharing, Change Agent, Clive Thompson, Collaborative Consumption, Des Pieri, Desmond Pieri, Dogpatch Labs, Inc., Interim, Interim CEO, Interim COO, Jenna Wortham, Leigh Buchanan, Neighbor-to-neighbor, NY Times, Peer-to-Peer, Person-to-person, Polaris Venture Partners, Relay Rides, RelayRides, Shelby Clark, Startup Lessons Learned, Startups, The Economist, Wired | 1 Comment »
When I was signing up for this year’s unConference, I was reminded how last year’s event was great because of the impromptu breakout sessions where it was fair game to discuss controversial subjects. I wish every founding CEO could have been at last year’s session titled, “How founding CEOs can transition from visionary to leader.” Though that was the title, it was clear from the get-go that this session was really about, “How founding CEOs can avoid getting fired before they ever make that transition from visionary to leader.” Eric Paley and Katie Rae, the session leaders, did a great job covering this controversial subject, focusing on solutions to this common problem.
