When Founders Stay: The Art of Building a Professional Leadership Team in a Founder-Led Business

In founder-led businesses, the founder’s vision, passion, and deep customer insight are often what sparked the company’s early success. For sponsors investing in founder-led companies, professionalizing the organization while keeping the founder at the helm requires a strategic approach – one that takes into consideration the organization’s unique context and culture as well as the founder’s strengths and growth opportunities.   

We’re sharing two examples that illustrate how to professionalize a leadership team around a founder-CEO, including the key factors that can make or break success. 

Building Structure Around Vision at a Retail Brand 

When a fast-growing retail brand crossed the $200M revenue mark, new private equity investment revealed that professionalizing the company’s leadership would be critical for further growth. 

The founder, an energetic visionary with boundless ideas, had built a magnetic brand and community. But the next phase would require leaders who could translate her creativity into discipline – turning inspired ideas into scalable, repeatable operations. It was time to strengthen the executive bench. 

To preserve what made the company unique, the investors decided to keep the founder-CEO in place and focus on upgrading the team around her. They needed a COO with deep warehouse and logistics expertise who could keep pace with the founder’s energy, and a CFO capable of preparing the business for a potential IPO while managing board and investor relations. 

At first, the investors targeted “ideal profiles,” executives with high-growth, brand-name experience and the same youthful dynamism as the founder. But it soon became clear that the perfect resume didn’t translate to the perfect fit. Chemistry mattered more than pedigree. 

The team ultimately hired a new COO and CFO who not only understood retail but could also act as a steadying force, balancing the founder’s energy rather than mirroring it, and providing the necessary operational and financial discipline for continued success. 

Key takeaway: In founder-led businesses, the right leadership hires don’t always look obvious on paper. Executives who connect deeply with the founder and can align around a shared vision will ultimately be able to deliver more value than those who simply meet the standard checkbox criteria. 

Preserving Culture While Scaling a Home Decor Business 

When an industry-disrupting home decor brand reached $250M in revenue and took on a private equity partner, it became clear that continued growth would require stronger leadership at the executive level. 

The company’s founder, an industry veteran, had built a successful business by taking a fresh, customer-first approach. The brand was also heavily defined by its culture; daily team lunches, open communication, and the founder’s constant presence created a close-knit environment that fueled both innovation and loyalty. 

To achieve the next stage of growth, investors sought to professionalize thoughtfully, keeping the founder-CEO in place while adding a CFO, COO, and CMO who would bring financial discipline, operational rigor, and marketing sophistication. The challenge was identifying leaders who could strengthen the enterprise without compromising the founder’s human-centered approach. 

Initially, the search focused on executives with impressive pedigrees and polished playbooks. Yet it soon became clear that technical experience alone would not suffice. The founder needed partners who could scale the business while preserving the personal touch that had defined the company’s identity from day one. 

The final hires struck that balance. The new executives elevated the company’s financial and operational sophistication while keeping the founder’s culture intact.  

Key takeaway: Preserving culture while scaling is possible – but only with leaders who understand what not to change. For founder-led businesses, the right hires are those who can honor the past while building the future. 

In both examples, the difference between good and great outcomes wasn’t pedigree or process. It was fit. The executives who thrived were those who complemented the founder’s strengths while priming the organization for growth. For private equity firms that choose to retain the founder, seeking leaders who can balance professionalizing the business while respecting the organization’s history will be best positioned to unlock maximum value.