I'm CEO of a technology company I founded 8 years ago. The company is doing OK in that it has grown each year, but not astronomically. It's VC backed, and has about 30 staff.
The amount of stress I've been under for years is colossal, and impacts every other area of my life. But I don't feel like I can step away - partly because of my obligation to the fantastic team, and partly for selfish reasons relating to wanting to 'succeed' and achieve a good exit.
This leads me to feel trapped, demotivated, depressed. I very rarely get any joy from my job now, which is a shame because objectively it's a well paid job in an interesting company. I feel like my job has become a huge burden, lurching from problem to problem, firefighting issues. I rarely get to exercise the creativity, technical knowledge, and drive that got me into this position - I feel stunted and boring.
My question is, from the pool of experience in HN, when is the right time to call it a day and 'exit' the CEO role? What are my options, realistically? Is it best to cut ties completely or to move to another role within the organisation?
Answers, or just thoughts, all welcomed. Thanks.
But it's tough. My situation hasn't exactly matched yours, but I think I know that oppressive feeling well!
It's not as if you are flouncing out after 5 minutes on the job: you've done a decent stint.
I think that you should not let things carry on as they are: it's risky and suboptimal for you and the business IMHO.
(BTW, I moved from CEO to CTO for my last business, and that was fine; I'm not a natural CEO!)