Startup ventures form a special class of enterprise that translates innovations into commercial offerings often disrupting large markets.  Despite the low probability of success, such ventures attract an ever increasing proportion of technologists graduating from MIT. Whether drawn to the thrill of pioneering at the cutting edge of a field, or the reward of creating value by starting from scratch, a growing army of entrepreneurs is fighting the odds to find success.  Among the most critical success factors for any company are the leadership team and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO).  The CEO of a startup venture faces unique challenges stemming from the extreme uncertainty, fluidity and fragility inherent to such enterprises.  Given the complex technical, product development and intellectual property issues faced by technology-based ventures, an engineer or scientist is often the CEO.  Often the technologist-CEO has no prior experience in the role and frequently is one of the founders with little work experience at all. This course will focus on the characteristics, requirements and role of a technologist-CEO in a startup. We will analyze the role from many points of view including as chief strategist, fundraiser, recruiter, motivator, promoter, market developer, sales person, visionary, communicator and paranoid optimist.