Most founders believe their job is to stay deeply involved as their company grows. But that instinct often becomes the very thing that holds the business back.
As companies scale, what once made them successful—founder-led decision-making, strong creative direction, tight control—can start to create bottlenecks. Teams can’t become truly autonomous, leadership layers struggle to emerge and the organization remains tied to the founder’s perspective instead of evolving beyond it.
I saw this firsthand after a decade of building Kurppa Hosk with business partner Thomas Kurppa. Nothing was broken; we had become a globally renowned creative agency. But growth was becoming constrained in quieter ways. As CEO, in charge of the business side of the agency, my leadership style—direct, hands-on, and rooted in constant dialogue and discussion—made it hard to scale the company.
This growth coincided with the birth of Eidra, a broader consultancy collective that Kurppa Hosk co-founded. Suddenly, the agency was part of a 30-company, 1,400-people partnership that spanned 14 offices, with expertise in strategy, creativity, innovation, and tech. I jumped on the chance to channel my strengths into something new.
The realisation was simple, but difficult to act on: the business didn’t need more of me. It needed a different me. Letting go of the CEO position became a deliberate decision to give the company room to grow and to focus on its future.
This move is not easy; 58% of founders have difficulty letting go of control. But if you’re wondering whether it’s time to step aside, here are five tips for navigating this transition with confidence.
1. Recognise the need for change
Stepping back as a founder is often equated with failure. It’s easy to think of high-profile examples like Groupon’s founder Andrew Mason or WeWork’s Adam Neumann, where founders were forced out after their leadership became detrimental to the business.
