When an entrepreneur goes all in on a company, they tend to consider that their baby. But when an actual family member requires undivided attention, the choice to leave a company you helped start is an easy one to make. Social personal finance site Wesabe is losing its CEO and co-founder, Jason Knight, for this reason.
His newborn son was diagnosed with a serious respiratory condition, and requires "ongoing medical attention and constant care," said Knight. Wesabe's Chairman and co-founder Marc Hedlund, who was the company's chief product officer prior, will be stepping in as the new CEO, effective immediately.
The rest of the Wesabe team, including Hedlund, has a great deal of respect for Knight and the decision he's made. This isn't the first time Hedlund has been in the CEO role. Before co-founding Wesabe, Hedlund was the CEO of Popular Power, as well as an entrepreneur-in-residence at O'Reilly Media. Surely Hedlund's experience will make the executive transition less stressful for Knight and his family. Our thoughts are with them.
See here for coverage of Wesabe's very useful service or below for an intro video, and check out Stern's interview with Hedlund for additional background.