[EECS]

Personally, unless the conversation warrants (i.e. where it matters) to mention I'm a founder or CEO or anything of so-called C-level / executive rank, I try my best to leave it out. Instead, I usually say "I work for...".

Don't really think its silly but I find that most people don't call themselves a CEO unless you specifically ask for a title in those situations. It's more common for me to hear people say they're working on a new startup (as opposed to really saying they're exploring an idea).

Titles are meaningless in most cases in startups. We made it a point not to even include titles in our business cards on my last startup. It just doesn't matter.