CEO and Founder vs Founder vs Co-founder: This entry is about the title combination, when one person holds both roles, when to split them, and how the transitions go. For the origin-role definition (who counts as a founder, how the title attaches), read [Founder]. For the team-dynamics nuance (when multiple people share founder status, how the term gets misused), read [Co-founder].
CEO and founder are two distinct roles often held by the same person early on: the founder originated the company, the CEO currently runs it. At a startup's earliest stage these collapse into one person by default, but the two roles can separate at any point, and many companies are run successfully by a non-founder CEO.
Three common transitions ...