Rich vs king: The founder's dilemma

Found a company and you can be in control or you can be rich. It's hard to be both: you need to figure out what motivates you, and what's important to you, and then act accordingly.

According to Noam Wasserman, a professor at Harvard Business School, if you're an entrepreneur then you will often face situations where you need to confront this dichotomy.

When you start up, do you set off on your own (and stay king), or find a co-founder (losing control, but increasing the odds of success)?

Do you choose investors who stay in the shadows (remain king), or ones who are hands-on (get rich)?

When you reach your limits, do you remain CEO (and stay king) or take a back seat and hire somebody in to take your place (get rich)?

You can read more at Noam's blog. Or - even better - you can hear Noam speak in person at Business of Software 2008.

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