Andreas Constantinou, the CEO of Slash Data, was a guest on the Failing to Success podcast hosted by Chad Kaleky with Cosmic Design and Development. Andreas talked about his journey in hiring a CEO to take over his company so that he could start something new. He discussed how he knew he had run out of passion for software and developers, and that he was serving more as a manager and leader rather than getting his hands dirty in innovation. Andreas decided he wanted to hand over the business to someone else to start something new, where he could be more involved.

The process of finding the right CEO took about a year, and during that time, they discussed the details and financial arrangements, as well as the changes that would occur as a result of the transition. Andreas mentioned that it was difficult to let go, and there were moments where he struggled to figure out what level of control he wanted to keep versus what he wanted to hand over. In the end, Andreas trusted his CEO completely and gave her full control, which has worked out very well. Andreas now mentors the CEO and helps her be the best CEO she can be.

The key takeaway from Andreas's experience is that it is essential to have someone with a 360-degree view of the business's people side to plan the transition month by month. It is also important to trust the CEO completely and give them full control while being available to mentor and offer perspectives.‍

Timestamps:

00:00:00 Intro

00:00:31 Hiring a CEO as a Founder

00:07:02 Running out of Money

00:12:56 The Culture Health Score

00:14:04 Contact Andreas