The practice of a startup CEO that needed to scale quickly

Being a startup CEO is difficult and new for everyone. A regular routine for learning builds capability over time. I asked some Main Sequence CEOs what they do and received some valuable and generous responses that they have agreed I can share.

Silvia Pfieffer — CEO of Coviu

Coviu emerged from three Covid waves as Australia’s leading healthcare communications platform. Silvia incubated the company inside CSIRO Data61 and spun it out in 2018.

Whilst she has started companies before, Coviu required her to learn how to scale her company quickly in a way that few are forced to do.

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Learn to make decisions

• Know when a decision has to be made whether it’s required fast or can wait.
• If it has to be made fast, I decide with insufficient information. It’s better to make a wrong decision than none.
• If it can wait, I gather enough information until it’s clear what the decision has to be.
• I read a lot and get advice from peers (other founders), mentors, advisors, my board, my co-founder, my team and other places.
• I stand by the decisions, the vision and the business direction that we’re taking.
• I delegate as much as possible, particularly the things that I know I’m not good at.
• I observe the operation of the business and identify where work falls through the gap or staff is overworked. That’s where the next hires have to be made.

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