Just a plug for the book this content is derived from, Noam Wasserman's "The Founders Dilemmas." It lays out so many facets of startup decisions that deserve thought from the outset to prevent issues. It also strikes a good balance IMO between being based in statistics and research, and including anecdotes from actual experiences that bring the statistics full circle. I'd highly recommend it.
There are such stark and notable exceptions to this dilemma it makes me wonder if it's the reason founders believe they can grind on through the growth of their startup. Gates, Zuckerberg, Jobs*, Bezos are founders who lead through immense growth of their companies. The "if they can do it, why can't I?" mentality has to be a factor.
