[xj]

Take Steve Jobs for example. He worked with Apple, NEXT and Pixar parallelly for sometime I believe. Other than that Apple itself is no lesser than multiple startups/companies as it is - a computer company, software company, mobile phone maker, digital distribution company, and more.

[keiferski]

If I remember correctly, he was at NEXT, which then got bought by Apple. He later got involved with Pixar, but not on an in-the-trenches manner.

It could definitely work, but you'd need established teams that can basically function on their own. At this point, you're a general, not a soldier.

[xj]

Right, at this point, you're not a soldier. You're a commander leading a battalion of hand-picked soldiers who are probably smarter than you (if you have funds and can hire well). This way, you're multiplying your effort by not doing the ground work yourself.

With two hands and 24 hours in a day, it's just too limited how much you can accomplish yourself.

[argonaut]

The key thing to remember is that Steve Jobs was more of an "investor" and an "advisor" at Pixar. He played no day-to-day role at Pixar. He certainly did not involve himself in any specific product development or management.

[bennyg]

He was working at NEXT and Pixar in parallel.