I’m 26 and have been building my own B2B business for the last year. It’s still small, but I believe it has real potential and I’ve learned an incredible amount from building it.
Recently I interviewed for what I thought was going to be a marketing role.
After the interview, the founder called me and said he had something completely different in mind: becoming the CEO of one of his companies.
The founder himself is also only 26, which made the whole situation even more interesting.
He has built a small holding group with around five businesses. They all complement each other in some way—software, services, rentals, B2C, etc.—rather than being completely unrelated ventures. From everything I’ve seen, they’re legitimate businesses with real customers, and the company I’d potentially lead currently generates over €300k in annual revenue.
His reasoning was that he believes the company has significantly more potential than its current size. He already has a team in place, but simply doesn’t have enough time to focus on it because he’s managing multiple businesses.
What surprised me most was why he approached me.
He said he liked my mindset, how I approached business problems, the projects I’d shown him, and that I think like an owner rather than just an employee.
To be honest, it feels surreal.
Part of me thinks, “I’m only 26. Am I actually ready to run a company?”
The other part thinks this could be the fastest education I’ll ever get.
I’d learn things that are very difficult to learn while running a tiny business:
The biggest concern, of course, is my own business.
At the moment I’m leaning toward keeping ownership while gradually removing myself from the daily operations. Most of what I do today can eventually be systemized or delegated, so the business wouldn’t disappear—it would simply become more independent from my time.
Financially, that also gives me more stability while continuing to own an asset that can grow in the background.
At this point, I honestly think I’m going to take the opportunity if the compensation and expectations make sense.
It feels like one of those decisions that could completely change the trajectory of my career.
Has anyone here made a similar move—from founder to CEO of someone else’s company—and if so, what surprised you the most?
Fun fact: During our conversation I asked him if he’d ever read MJ DeMarco. He smiled and said, “Of course.” That was probably the moment I realized we have a very similar way of thinking.
Recently I interviewed for what I thought was going to be a marketing role.
After the interview, the founder called me and said he had something completely different in mind: becoming the CEO of one of his companies.
The founder himself is also only 26, which made the whole situation even more interesting.
He has built a small holding group with around five businesses. They all complement each other in some way—software, services, rentals, B2C, etc.—rather than being completely unrelated ventures. From everything I’ve seen, they’re legitimate businesses with real customers, and the company I’d potentially lead currently generates over €300k in annual revenue.
His reasoning was that he believes the company has significantly more potential than its current size. He already has a team in place, but simply doesn’t have enough time to focus on it because he’s managing multiple businesses.
What surprised me most was why he approached me.
He said he liked my mindset, how I approached business problems, the projects I’d shown him, and that I think like an owner rather than just an employee.
To be honest, it feels surreal.
Part of me thinks, “I’m only 26. Am I actually ready to run a company?”
The other part thinks this could be the fastest education I’ll ever get.
I’d learn things that are very difficult to learn while running a tiny business:
- leading a team,
- building systems,
- making executive decisions,
- working with investors and potentially raising capital,
- scaling a company that’s already operating.
The biggest concern, of course, is my own business.
At the moment I’m leaning toward keeping ownership while gradually removing myself from the daily operations. Most of what I do today can eventually be systemized or delegated, so the business wouldn’t disappear—it would simply become more independent from my time.
Financially, that also gives me more stability while continuing to own an asset that can grow in the background.
At this point, I honestly think I’m going to take the opportunity if the compensation and expectations make sense.
It feels like one of those decisions that could completely change the trajectory of my career.
Has anyone here made a similar move—from founder to CEO of someone else’s company—and if so, what surprised you the most?
Fun fact: During our conversation I asked him if he’d ever read MJ DeMarco. He smiled and said, “Of course.” That was probably the moment I realized we have a very similar way of thinking.
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