Editing Openai/69636561-a85c-8009-a6d2-38643aad9e40 (section)

==== Introduction ====

In rare startup structures, a seasoned investor or operator fully funds a new company, hires or appoints a founder-operator as the day-to-day CEO, and retains majority equity and control. In these arrangements, the founder-operator is expected to behave like a true founder – demonstrating long-term commitment, “ownership” of the mission, and team-building leadership – even though the majority owner is the investor. The goal of such structures is to leverage the investor’s resources and guidance while scaling a company beyond any single individual and minimizing key-person risk. This report examines historical and modern precedents of this model, analyzing how venture studios, search funds, and other bespoke arrangements have structured equity, compensation, and governance. We will compare successes (including cases that scaled to $100M+ or even unicorn status) and failures, and distill lessons on incentive alignment, founder retention, IP protection, and structural pitfalls. We conclude with a best-practice framework for designing a long-term, multi-billion-dollar company using this approach, and key design principles to heed beyond the legal mechanics.