New Delhi: Founders stepping aside from the CEO role in their own startups is increasingly becoming part of the growth playbook — and it’s high time India shed its negative perception of such moves, according to Anupam Mittal, founder of Shaadi.com and a judge on the latest season of Shark Tank India.
In a detailed LinkedIn post, Mittal — whose comments come amid a broader debate triggered by recent leadership changes, including the CEO transition at Zomato — said Indian startups have long operated under the assumption that “Founder = CEO = forever.” But, he added, this model doesn’t fit the needs of fast-scaling companies today, where the challenges at 100 employees differ markedly from those at 1,000.
“Startups are growing faster than founders can grow as managers,” Mittal wrote, noting that many founders excel at early phases — taking an idea from zero to one or one to ten — but may lack the operational depth needed to run large, complex organisations. Bringing in seasoned professional leadership at the right stage, he said, can strengthen the company while allowing the founder to remain focused on strategic vision and long-term upside.
Mittal highlighted that in international markets, founder CEO transitions are widely accepted and often encouraged as part of scaling. “The founder retains ownership and long-term upside, while the company benefits from experienced leadership,” he explained, urging Indian founders and investors to adopt a similar mindset.
Despite this, he acknowledged a persistent stigma in India, where such exits are sometimes portrayed as being fired, failing, or involved in wrongdoing — narratives he insists are often inaccurate. Making oneself “replaceable,” he argued, should be a strategic goal for founders aiming to build enduring institutions, citing global giants like Google and Apple as examples.
Mittal’s comments have struck a chord in a startup ecosystem still navigating leadership transitions amid growth pressures and evolving investor expectations.