# Founder Led Companies

**Published by:** [AVC](https://paragraph.com/@avc-2/)
**Published on:** 2021-11-24
**URL:** https://paragraph.com/@avc-2/founder-led-companies

## Content

I remember about fifteen years ago, a well-known VC said to me “you need to sell a company within a few years of the founder leaving. Companies can’t sustain their innovation after a founder leaves.” I told that VC that my experience has been different on that measure and that I did not agree. I have seen leadership teams take over great businesses from founders and get them to the next level. Etsy, where I am Chair of the Board and a large shareholder, is a great example of that. There are many others in my career as well. However, there is a special something that founders provide companies. I’ve heard it called “moral leadership.” I’ve heard it called “the soul of the business.” I’ve heard it called “long-term thinking.” This podcast with Brian Armstrong, founder and CEO of Coinbase, another public company where I am on the Board and a large shareholder, is a good example of that. If you are into crypto or a Coinbase shareholder, you might want to watch the entire one hour and forty minutes of this video. But if you want to see what I am talking about with founder-led businesses, there are a few conversations in this podcast I would direct you to. They are:25:48 The Drive and Vision29:36 The Future of Coinbase47:30 Public Goods & Decentralization51:39 Eating All the Banks1:32:12 Maturing and Growing

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