[hnnewguy]

>What do you think?

It bothers me as well. I attended a social gaming conference during the height of the Facebook game fad, and every company had a "CEO", even if the company had one or two employees.

It's ridiculous, and only seems to be prevalent in the tech scene; when the plumbing proprietor shows up at your house, he isn't referring to himself as the CEO.

[frostmatthew]

> when the plumbing proprietor shows up at your house, he isn't referring to himself as the CEO

What does he refer to himself as?

Probably plumber - but what's the equivalent for a CEO? Head of Sales? Lead Developer? General Manager? The CEO's duties (at a startup) will vary from startup to startup. [I'm not disagreeing with you - I'm just not sure there's a better option]

[cjf4]

Small companies don't need "Officers."

[wglb]

Any corporation needs to report a certain standard set of officers in their incorporation papers: President, Secretary are often the minimum. Many think of President as roughly equivalent to CEO.

[kevin_thibedeau]

Corporations, yes. Companies, no. Nobody founds a corporation.

[wglb]

I am afraid you lost me with Nobody founds a corporation. I did this, insofar as I know.