It is a misconception that only the employees of the company they work for can get fired. Not necessarily. In a big corporation, it works differently. There are titles and boards involved.
The fact is, being a founder does not prevent you from getting potentially fired. There are various reasons why that can happen. Even Steve Jobs got fired once.
There are a few reasons as to why this can happen. Here are the nine biggest reasons:
1. They are no longer useful - Just because you own the company it does not entitle you to a lifetime tenure.
2. Owners get greedy - Being too greedy can be detrimental for the business. Investors and executives will push hard to meet your numbers but take one wrong step and you will be taken down.
3. They are no longer the right fit. - The founder may be good at starting the company but is not good at stabilizing it.
4. They had a bad board that made bad decisions. - According to Mansour Salame, CEO of FrontSpin, he has seen investors make rash decisions about CEOs or founders. "In a startup there will be things that go wrong. That is the nature of the game. Those problems get discussed at the board. If the board does not know how to help the CEO solve them, too often the board solution is: get someone else in to solve these problems. Instead of helping the CEO solve the problems.
5. They could not adapt to a maturing company culture - Professional relationships evolve and cultural change can be tough. An anonymous contributor mentioned that used a roommate from college isn't necessarily going to have the same type of professional relationship that is appropriate for a CEO and a head of product or head of engineering, according to Business Insider,
6. They became victim of power struggle and office politics - Office drama can easily sway people. Personality clashes can affect relationships and there will be power struggles in the environment.
7. They failed to meet the numbers - Founders who do not meet their deliverables may eventually get pressured into leaving.
8. They simply gave up too much control. According to Ian McCullough, "The founders get fired when they've turned over majority control of their company to others in exchange for working capital, and the investors lose faith in the founders' ability to create value."
9. Lastly, they hung on to their original vision for too long - The board may have a different perspective and things change everyday. The founder may not be the in the right position to carry on the business.
