Harbert Magazine Spring 2025

Now what? Catching lightning in a bottle may be the easy part. Try evolving from entrepreneur to CEO.

here’s an old song by the British punk band, The Clash, and nearly every business exec sings in their own version, in their own time, about their own company. The song title: Should I Stay or Should I Go? That decision can be a tough one, because career choices, for all their opportunity, are

often executed without a net — the upside, an aspirational leap to the next level; the downside, professional peril. There is an exception, however, that we might mention — if you’re running a startup that’s caught fire and has healthy growth, you may be looking at the choice that’s the envy of choices: Either follow your original plan, sell the stock, exit and get paid, or, if possible, switch to executive mode, and become the CEO of an up-and-comer on its way to potential greatness.

42 Harbert Magazine, Spring 2025