Hi. My name is Brandon Paton and I am 17 years old. I am the CEO and President of stealth mode startup College Credential, Inc. I have founded four successful internet startups (one of which was acquired), and currently serve on the board of advisors of a rapidly growing startup. And don’t forget I’m only 17. Sound impressive? Too bad, because most of what I just told you is not true.
In reality, I am not a CEO and have never been one. College Credential is not incorporated, and it is barely in stealth mode. I’ve really only founded one other website that was mildly successful (sold for $10k), and even that struggles to be called a startup. My other three “startups” never made me money (but definitely taught me a lot).
It’s funny how the truth can be manipulated. It happens pretty often when it comes to teenage entrepreneurs. They call themselves CEOs of their unincorporated companies. They announce a strategic partnership with a “company” their friend owns. They say their company was acquired, when it was really only purchased from someone on SitePoint for a few thousand dollars.
Don’t get me wrong, the teens I speak of are impressive individuals, and I’m not using their names because I respect them. They have the inborn entrepreneurial spirit that will take them places. However, I cringe when I hear the title “CEO” used lightly. To me, it conveys a lack of humility and a desperate call for attention. The majority of people that judge you will do so based on your experience, what you know, and what you have done. Inflated titles and fictitiously incorporated companies will not score you points with people who matter. It may gain you some praise from people who don’t know any better, but what good does that do?
Truth is, in a few years we won’t be teens anymore. We will no longer have our foot in the door just because our age is impressive. Calling ourselves CEO of an unincorporated company with no substance will make us look like fools even more so than before. In my opinion, entrepreneurs who start young have one primary advantage. We get to make mistakes early and learn from them. What impresses me about young entrepreneurs is not their titles as “CEO,” but what they’re doing to gain that entrepreneurial edge at such a young age.
Back in September, I attended the TechCrunch50 conference in San Francisco. One thing I noticed was that everyone I talked to was very enthusiastic and supportive of my interest in Internet startups. On my nametag was “College Credential,” so when I met people for the first time, the company names on our nametags were usually the first things we talked about. I explained that College Credential was a side project (with school being primary) and that over the summer I had been meeting with college admission counselors at local universities to gain their insight on the concept of the website. I could have presented myself as the CEO of College Credential, but they wouldn’t have been any more impressed.
So if you don’t want to call yourself a CEO, what’s a good alternative? On my business card, I didn’t include any title at all. If I reprinted them, I’d probably use “Founder of…” which is completely fine.
The bottom line is that people are impressed by what you’ve done and how you conduct yourself. Inflated titles and exaggerations, while they help in the short-term, will always work against you in the end.
You should follow me on Twitter here.
View comments at Hacker News.
I am completely on par with you on that (I am a senior in high school as a disclosure). I hang out with a few ‘CEOs’ myself and have never quite understood how they can honestly say with a straight face that they are in fact a ‘CEO’ – yes its professional but even a forty year old guy that has a job and creates a startup on the side as a little project (similar to your story) doesn’t go around saying he is CEO. It seems that teens just want to grow up a little too fast and get straight to the top of the food chain, play with the big boys kind of thing… it doesn’t quite work that way.
also just a small english error…
and I’m not using their names because I respect for them.
should be… ‘and I’m not using their names because I have respect for them.
A fantastic piece nonetheless – thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
Thanks Chad =)
I fixed the error.
glad you got your ‘team’ over at brandonpaton.com on that one.
Interesting thoughts. I, too, first started out with a friend at age 17 in 1999 (Web 1.0 bubble hey-day!) … I’m now 27 and the one thing I learned back then, and that I find is true until this day is this: CEO is the one title that is officially effective only and as soon as you give it yourself. It’s part of the game in self-founded, owner-funded companies where there’s no “board” to speak of or VCs naming the CEO. Other titles are granted by authorities: academic titles, professors, judges, mayors, presidents, you name it. The CEO is the only authority to grant the CEO title, and ideally they all start with their own lemonade stands or SitePoint-viable pet projects. No point in taking the pride away in your own projects that you try out in the market-place (million-dollar companies essentially do nothing else), and that culminates in the freedom to give yourself the title you earned even before you made it big, simply because you made something at all.
Good luck, hang in there, enjoy the ride and always make something that rocks!
To clarify, I’m personally not overly fond of the title myself, I don’t use it myself — but “Don’t get me wrong, the teens [...] are impressive individuals, and [...] I respect them.” — for the same reason I smile in acknowledgement if they sport their self-granted title. It is a testament not primarily to their past achievements but their future aspirations, and it’s that driving force behind their use of an *otherwise* bland title that I approve of. =)
Their aspirations are respectable, indeed.
I think passion, determination, and aspiration are all great things everyone should have, though I’ve seen a lot of people go through life with none of those three.
Thanks for the posts
Great post Brandon, I completely agree! I’m a 23 year old start-upper, with a real incorporated company that has received funding from my alma mater and I’ve had Co-Founder on my business cards for the last 2 years. It’s all fine with me. As soon as someone talks to me, they’ll know what I do at the company rather than go by some fake title that doesn’t really mean anything.
Cheers,
Paul
Indeed, bingo. It is important that our learning should speak for our self and not our designations. Co Founder is a modest word to use right now for CYA I guess as it might put a positive picture in front of those who matter.
Way to call out Mark Bao there…
I’m sorry to say this, but you kids are fucking dumb as monkeys.
yes its professional but even a forty year old guy that has a job and creates a startup on the side as a little project (similar to your story) doesn’t go around saying he is CEO
BELIEVE ME, THEY DO. if you do consulting as a programmer with languages that the startup crowd considers cutting-edge, you will meet so many of these guys that it’ll make your head spin. I wish the world did not have 40-yr-old guys who call themselves CEOs because they have their little startup on the side. but it is full of them. full to bursting. they are everywhere.
“dumb as monkeys” is too harsh. “completely misinformed” is what I should have said. “young and innocent” would also be accurate.
the truth of the matter is somebody who founds a company and makes money with it during high school probably deserves the CEO title, and whatever prestige you associate with it, far, far more than most of the respectable figures you think of as CEOs. (some of whom are not actually that respectable.)
but I’m fine with it if you don’t go calling yourself a CEO and you stick to a business card that has nothing on it but “Founder.” that carries a lot more prestige in my opinion anyway. as I understand it, a CEO is a guy who bought an MBA and didn’t do much else. a founder is somebody who made something where nothing existed before.
I laugh because you are speaking of a Mark ___.
lol +1
Thank you debunking this ever pervasive youthful notion that egotistical self-polluting acronyms/job-titles actually mean something in business and life.
If self-improvement (while not true in all cases) is masturbation then self-proclamation by improving is simply a social cue for feeling more important than the majority.
Um, wherever a title is required I put down “Chief” (of myself, since I’m a one man band). Hope it’s not too boastful.
PS: No, I never misrepresent my experience.
I always had a problem with using the title CEO early on with my startups so I didn’t. I tended not to use a title at all, and if pried, I’d just say I was the Founder and business guy. Titles in business really don’t mean anything and only begin to take on meaning as your startup grows beyond ten or more people and your job becomes more focused.
Haha, Totally agree, hate people calling themselves CEO’s at like 16/17, does make me laugh, Great post Brandon.
Btw all the guys saying Mark Bao, made me lol.
Nice post Brandon. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for the posts everyone.
For the record, there is some really good discussion over at Hacker News that came from this post.
Check it out: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=918417
A former colleague & I always had trouble with the title “CEO”, so we started covertly referring to our CEO by our preferred version – the COE.
Or, the C*** that Owns Everything.
very true, am from Bangalore, and surprised at number of young New yorkers havin the Dream still alive and working toward it. I have one myself, but that is inside a very thick maze of uncompromising, bureaucratic, and autocracy colored place. Hoping to solve this and come out… keep up your work, will follow ur posts from now on
Great post Brandon, Love your article.
nice article. you should put entrepreneur on your business card.
Great post! I am 15 years old (now) and went through a phase like that. I will admit! However now, I, like you mentioned, use Founder of. Other great words are “Professional” “Entrepreneur” “Innovator”
Loved the post!
Herwig Konings
Founder of Discover A Startup Idea
Herwig, thanks for the comment.
I signed up for your newsletter
I saw thanks Brandon! Much appreciated! Any criticism welcomed, no matter how harsh or positive!
Thanks!
Herwig
I have never liked the term “CEO”, not even for the big guys.
Currently I call myself Founding Author of Success Circuit but am not sure if I like that title either!