How do you determine titles for each co-founder?

I agree with Dalton. Co-Founder is a really good term. I wouldn’t waste any brain power on something that matters so little at this stage.

However, once you reach $1,000 MRR I’d start having this conversation. Ask your co-founder(s) what they enjoy doing, and where they see themselves. Sure at $1,000 MRR you’re way too small to have any C positions. But if you have these conversations early, it’s a lot easier on everybody once you get big.

I agree with @daltonlp. Imo focus should be solely put on things that will get your product to the next milestone, and I've never seen how assigning C-suite titles at an early stage is productive.

Mind you, an understanding of roles and responsibilities is absolutely important, so maybe assigning "leads" over certain domains like tech vs non-tech, or specifically like assigning an operations lead and a marketing lead might be helpful for your team, but I don't think the C-suite titles are necessary in order to achieve that understanding.

like most folks... useful... to a point. and not very useful in the beginning.

1. the one that speaks the best

2. in the early days, stakeholders look for the vision, the execution, the revenue and the technology that enable that

• CEO as the sole entry point for vision, strategy, shareholders relations, and finance
• COO as Operations or GM, the one that makes it happen
• CCO or CRO (R as Revenue) as the commercial leader
• CIO or CTO the tech guy or the link between product/biz and tech

Other C-suite labels matter later, CPO (Product), CDO, ...

3. labels doesn't matter in the day-to-day but help frame roles and responsibilities. Also are critical to 'fake it until you make it' so when your stakeholders (key customers, investors, >10 employees etc) helps a lot

4. Matter as much as you want. No need to print a business card like other did: "Hey bitch, I am CEO"

I'm with @daltonlp - The titles are largely meaningless and for vanity. My co-founder and I have been working together for just over a year, and we have no formal titles. She is in charge of all marketing and sales and I am in charge of all development.

I occasionally say I am the CTO, especially when answering support requests of a more technical nature - just to add some context around why I am jumping into a thread, and I think my co-founder's email signature says 'customer support evangelist' or something like that - I am not 100% sure.

To be honest, there are days when I will be happy to put "coffee boy" or "office cat petter" on my email signatures. We are all multi tasking in our startup, and titles really don't mean squat.

@daltonlp nailed it, but for info you can have any "C" you like (e.g. C of customer delight). COO & CSO are common. Their importance is inversely proportional to the badge-wearer's competence.

Surely not a problem to solve in the beginning. First, you gotta have a company to manage, and for that, you have to build something that someone wants.

I agree with all that all the previous comments have said, but also would highlight the importance of actually "selecting" a CEO-like person or the way to make decisions. Do you all make decisions equally by voting over every single little thing? Or is there a "lead" for certain aspects of the business, and others do as that person decided?

Forget about titles, they only serve to impress your mom.

Go with co founder and Start working 😅