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The Harvard Business Review identified this problem as the founder's dilemma, noting that in most successful companies, the founder is pushed out of control by investors within the first few years after the formation of the company. In some instances, the desire of the founder to maintain control over the organization becomes a problem because, when an entrepreneurial organization is successful, "t outgrows the ability of the founder, or even of a small team around the founder, to control". A drawback to such an arrangement is the possibility that the founder will clash with the person who has replaced them as leader of the organization, and that such a conflict will affect the performance of the founder emeritus as a board member. Some organizations maintain a connection with their founder by establishing a position of founder emeritus, either as an entirely symbolic post, or as a position with some power, such as a permanent position on the board of directors. When there is no definitive agreement, like a shareholders' agreement, disputes about who the co-founders are, can arise.
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The right to call oneself a co-founder can be established through an agreement with one's fellow co-founders or with permission of the board of directors, investors, or shareholders of a startup company. In fact, there is no formal, legal definition of what makes someone a co-founder.
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Securities and Exchange Commission's definition of "Promoter" includes: (i) Any person who, acting alone or in conjunction with one or more other persons, directly or indirectly takes initiative in founding and organizing the business or enterprise of an issuer however, not every promoter is a co-founder. The language of securities regulation in the United States considers co-founders to be "promoters" under Regulation D. If the founder is on the nonprofit's board, part of the solution is to make sure that the board is diverse, balanced, and regularly infused with new blood". "One practical way to cope with overreliance on a founder is to distribute management duties so that others are clearly responsible for important operations. The founder of an organization might be so closely identified with that organization, or so heavily involved in its operations, that the organization can struggle to exist without the founder's presence. A number of specific issues have been identified in connection with the role of the founder.
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