(Editor’s note: Firas Raouf is a partner with OpenView Partners. He submitted this story to VentureBeat.)

Most early stage tech companies don’t think they have room for a chief operating officer.

There are several reasons behind that, of course. Sometimes, the CEO feels he/she needs to “be close to the business” and all aspects of the operation. Others feel strategy and execution shouldn’t be separated, while some feel early stage companies are too small to have a COO. The saddest of instances is when the CEO believes recruiting a COO would be an admission of failure.

While I’m sympathetic to those arguments, I do believe the role can be highly beneficial — and even necessary in certain situations – and shouldn’t be dismissed offhand due to a company’s size or the CEO’s ego getting in the way.

When Hiring a COO Makes Sense

Many early stage companies are founded by young and inexperienced CEOs. This is the nature of the beast, where a founder blends the entrepreneurial spirit and technical skills to launch a venture. Operational experience is largely irrelevant at that point. To succeed, the founder often leverages their inexperience by being totally unencumbered by the past. This allows the company to adapt and adjust to a highly dynamic and changing market environment.

But once the company passes the startup phase where the product, customer and distribution model have been identified, operational expertise starts to become more critical – and a functionally experienced senior management team becomes valuable. Hiring, motivating, challenging and retaining such managers all require significant operational experience.  This is where the founding CEO often begins to falter, but it’s when a COO role makes the most sense.

A COO’s value is designed to be complimentary to the CEO.  The truth is that no CEO, no matter how experienced, can possibly cover the complex aspects of managing all the functions of a technology company. It’s better to divide and conquer. By recruiting a COO, the CEO can focus on the aspects of the role that he/she truly excels at – and enjoys the most.

Of course, these areas of interest will vary by CEO. For example, they may be more technical than operational, preferring to focus on product strategy and management (like Steve Jobs, for example). In that case, the COO can take over the rest of the operation, focusing on sales, marketing, support and operations.  Then again, the CEO could also be more of an “outside” visionary, preferring to set the strategy and be the spokesperson while evangelizing with prospects, customers, analysts and bankers (such as Larry Ellison). This is when the COO can take on the actual execution of the strategy.

By thinking of it as a yin-yang division of responsibilities, the CEO-COO relationship begins to make more sense.

Naturally, there are also certain risks involved with hiring a COO. Foremost is the misalignment of the roles and a lack of trust, which can lead to division and disharmony.  To ensure the success of the COO role, the CEO needs to work with the board of directors to develop the appropriate set of expectations, responsibilities and required qualifications. Specifically:

Establishment of trust — This is the absolute most important aspect of a successful CEO-COO relationship. Trust (in this case) begins with the CEO truly coming to terms with the need for a COO and having clarity as to why. The CEO must then convey that, with humility, to the prospective COO.

Finding chemistry — The CEO and COO must have mutual respect. They need to recognize and appreciate the skills that each brings, and be completely open with each other.

Defining the role — The role of the COO needs to be crystal clear. I’ve personally found capable executive recruiters to be very valuable in helping the CEO develop the role with clarity. The recruiter tends to bring an objective view as well as the view of prospects.

Defining the rules of engagement — In the final stages of recruiting, the CEO and COO should get together and map out on a whiteboard the specific roles each will take. That might seem contradictory to the previous point, but initial definitions are the ideal. Reality often forces refinements, based on the skills of the prospect. This is where the yin and yang are melded into one circle. Part of that is the definition of rules of engagement for managing and communicating internally with the senior team and the rest of the employees.

Each day, Inc.’s reporters scour the Web for the most important and interesting news to entrepreneurs. Here’s what we found today.

Is the IPO market hot or not? With investors clamoring for new tech public offerings such as LinkedIn and Yandex, it seems strange that chip maker Freescale Semiconductor Holdings debuted its offering at $18, reflecting weak investor demand, the New York Times Dealbook reports. The lower-than-expected offering comes as Delphi Automotive, an auto parts maker that has “languished in bankruptcy for years” filed for an IPO. The company listed its preliminary fund-raising goal at $100 million. While that number is still flexible over coming weeks, the expected price of public shares of Spirit Airlines, which make their debut on Nasdaq Friday, have also fallen—from $16 to $12 each this week.

Ashton Kutcher strikes again! Hot on the heels of his investment advice at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in New York, Ashton Kutcher reveals he has made a “significant investment” in vacation-booking website Airbnb, reports the L.A. Times. “For many, Ashton Kutcher is an actor and heart throb, but in the tech scene he’s made his mark as a branding and new media expert with an eye for great ideas and a fearless approach to new markets,” Airbnb said in a blog post this morning. “To the Airbnb team, he is more than an icon –- he is now our ally and trusted advisor.” The “No Strings Attached” actor has recently been gaining street cred in the start-up world, with a record of investing in tech companies like Skype, which Microsoft just bought for a staggering $8.5 billion.

Remember drinking that Coke? Well it didn’t happen. What if your company’s advertising was so good that it could actually implant false memories in people’s brains? According to Wired, it’s not impossible. Writer Jonah Lehrer recalls drinking Coke from a glass bottle at a high school football game but realizes that would have been impossible; Glass bottles were not permitted on the field. “So where did this sentimental scene starring soda come from?” he writes. “My guess is a Coca-Cola ad, one of those lavishly produced clips in which the entire town is at the big football game and everyone is clean cut, good looking and holding a tasty Coke product…is less about the virtues of the product (who cares if Coke tastes better than Pepsi?) and more about associating the drink with a set of intensely pleasurable memories.”

Why every company needs a COO. One of the great fallacies of start-ups is they don’t think they have room, or need, for a chief operating officer. Nonsense, says Firas Raouf, a partner at VC-fund OpenView in Boston. In a column for VentureBeat, Raouf explains why hiring a COO makes sense for every company, especially early-stage tech companies. While many CEOs wish to be “close to the business” and control the entire operation, hiring a COO to handle the execution takes pressure off the chief executive, allowing him or her to focus on strategy. Raouf explains that a COO’s true value is to be a complement to the CEO, creating a yin-yang division of responsibilities that provides structure and harmony to the company.

What’s all the excitement about data? “Ubiquity of personal data through social media has created a new landscape for American business,” says Laurent Ohana, chairman of Parkview Ventures, a merchant bank focused on technology, in this piece from DigiDay. Many of the biggest venture capital firms are investing in data start-ups that seek to optimize consumer insights. The value is in helping understand behavior, as well as define product lines, digital campaigns, and brand identity.

Exinda, a global provider of WAN optimization solutions that deliver Unified Performance Management (UPM), today announced it will address some of the most pressing issues facing network managers in a live webinar on Thursday, May 26 at 1:00 pm (Eastern). The webcast will feature special guest Cindy Borovick, Vice President, Enterprise Communications Infrastructure and Datacenter Networks at IDC.

“The growth of cloud computing, video traffic, virtualization, social media, smart devices on the network, and more, has placed new demands on the network and on network managers tasked with managing this traffic,” said Kevin Suitor, Vice President of Marketing at Exinda. “These demands have also changed how applications are used and delivered.”

The Exinda webcast will provide analysis on the business drivers and challenges for cloud computing, new ways to manage video traffic on the network, and how to improve the delivery of applications over the wide area network (WAN).

“Exinda is helping thousands of enterprises, educational institutions, government bodies, and small to medium businesses to design or evolve their WANs to enable them to take advantage of new applications and service delivery methods,” said Suitor. “We look forward to sharing what we have learned from this first-hand experience, and hearing how others are adapting to the changing landscape.”

To register for the Exinda webcast, visit https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/796970817. The webcast will be recorded and available via the company’s website www.exinda.com following the live event.

New Feature Preview: Exinda Edge Cache

Exinda will also provide an overview of the new Exinda Edge Cache™, including the latest data from field deployments. The Edge Cache, a key feature of Exinda’s upcoming ExOS 6.1 software, enables single-sided caching of Internet-based content, including web objects, videos and software updates with a single Exinda WAN Optimization appliance at the branch office or data center, enabling a superior user experience and reducing WAN utilization costs.

About Exinda

Exinda is a proven global supplier of WAN Optimization and Application Acceleration products. The Exinda Unified Performance Management (UPM) solution encompasses application visibility, control, optimization and intelligent acceleration – all within a single network appliance that is affordable and easy to manage. Founded in 2002, Exinda is headquartered in Andover, MA and has established regional offices in Canada and the United Kingdom to support the growing global demand for its products and services. Exinda is a 100% channel business with products being distributed by a worldwide network of solution partners who offer local support and services. For more information, please visit http://www.exinda.com.

The Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA), the principal trade association for the software and digital content industries, today announced the winners of the prestigious CODiE Awards for products and services in the business software industry. The CODiE Awards–the industry’s only peer-reviewed rewards program–were announced today during a special luncheon held in conjunction with the All About the Cloud conference in San Francisco.

“For more than 25 years, the CODiE Awards have recognized the most innovative new technology products and services,” noted SIIA President Ken Wasch. “The software recognized today underwent an intensive review by industry peers, subject matter experts, analysts and journalists to make it into the winner’s circle. These products provide the business solutions that fuel our economy and solidify America’s place in the global marketplace. SIIA warmly congratulates all of the winners and nominees of the CODiE Awards.”

The CODiE(TM) Awards recognize excellence in the business software, digital content, and education technology industries. Through a rigorous product review process, subject matter experts in these industries score products based on industry-accepted criteria. Finalists are selected and then considered by the members of SIIA through a voting process. CODiE winners receive a significant level of industry validation that reflects excellence, conveys importance, and calls attention to their innovation and industry leadership. For more information about the CODiE Awards visit http://www.siia.net/codies/2011/.

AtTask was announced as the winner for Best Project Management Solution.   Read the article in full for the complete list of winners.

Zmags Inc. has named Michael Schreck, a former partner at General Catalyst Partners, as president and CEO of the Boston rich media marketing software firm. He takes over the role from co-founder Jens Karstoft, who holds the vice president of strategic innovation role.

Schreck’s career history includes several serial entrepreneurship stints, co-founding such companies as m-Qube, Upromise and SmartBargains. Prior to Zmags, he served as CEO and president of Corrective Solutions, a business and government services company. He earned an MBA degree from Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University, where he now serves on the Presidential Advisory Council.

Zmags, founded in 2006, develops a software-as-a-service product that enables marketers to turn static print or PDF collateral into interactive flash format. It launched a merchandising service, called CommercePro, for online, mobile and social commerce. The company has its headquarters in Boston, with additional offices in London, Copenhagen and Los Angeles.

The company was named a Mass High Tech Startup to Watch in 2009.

Since the explosion of social media sites and web-capable smartphones and tablets, companies are ready to bring their content digital and engage with customers where they spend the most time – online. Digital magazine vendor Zmags now offers CommercePro – a Software-as-a-Service that lets clients develop interactive shopping experiences through online catalogs and digital magazines.

CommercePro offers:

Tablet/Mobile Commerce: Merchants can automatically mobilize content and commerce, converting shoppers within the Zmags digital experience on any device, including the iPad.

Facebook: Merchants and brands can publish catalogs directly to their Facebook pages.

Integrated Shopping Carts: CommercePro creates a single unified shopping cart available for every product directly inside the interactive digital catalog.

Funnel Analytics: CommercePro offers data including conversion rates, order value, number of items per order and other actionable intelligence.

Dynamic Display Windows: Integrated product display windows enable customers to view product details and complete a purchase directly from within the catalog. The windows also connect with product databases, recommendation engines, and social media platforms.

Zmags claims that one European retailer using CommercePro has doubled conversion rates and average order size compared to its traditional Web traffic.

Zmags, the industry’s leading rich media merchandising and analytics solution, today announced the appointment of Michael Schreck as president and chief executive officer. Schreck brings 20 years of experience in building and leading pioneering companies that have enabled the world’s most progressive brands to deeply engage with their customers via innovative business process, software, and technology.

Schreck joins the company to expand its successful digital publishing business in the rapidly developing mobile and social commerce markets. His deep understanding of retail, loyalty and brand marketing will enable Zmags to provide its global client base with the most advanced merchandising and analytics tools available.  The Company’s technology lets leading brands and retailers break free of static online shopping sites and to leverage the unique interactions available on the iPad, the iPhone, Facebook and across virtually all mobile and social channels.

“For smart brands, it’s about far more than building an app that no one downloads or continually re-purposing the same online content to a mobile device. It’s all about merchandising the ideal customer experience, regardless of platform, to drive a quantum improvement in consumer engagement, revenue conversions, and data insight,” said Schreck. “Zmags’ technology helps global brands design a uniquely personalized rich-media experience wherever a customer chooses to shop – online, on mobile devices, or on Facebook. When I look at the Zmags merchandising and analytics engine, its active roster of 3,000 leading global brands, and the pace of change being driven by the iPad and Facebook, I see brilliant growth opportunities for our Company and I’m thrilled to be taking the helm at this exciting time.”

To support Schreck’s vision, the company today announced its new flagship service: CommercePro by Zmags.  CommercePro is the first merchandising and retail intelligence solution optimized specifically for online, mobile and social commerce. [For more details on Zmags CommercePro please see releaseZmags Introduces Zmags CommercePro – the First Merchandising Solution Optimized for e-Commerce(issued on May 24, 2011).]

Firas Raouf, a partner at OpenView Venture Partners and a lead investor in Zmags, had this to say of Schreck’s appointment: “Michael brings a potent mix of entrepreneurial vision, brand experience, and comfort with the venture community required to accelerate Zmags as it expands its horizons in serving the world’s top brands and retailers. Today Zmags is setting forth in an exciting new direction – one based on a firm foundation of success – and there is no one who is better suited to lead the company at this time than Michael.”

“Given the unprecedented speed of change affecting the e-commerce landscape from smart phones, tablets, and social media, we continue to see leading global marketers struggle with how to respond effectively. There is a great deal of noise in the marketplace about how brands can tap into these explosive markets, but virtually no one has emerged to offer brands something that actually works, until now. Zmags, under Michael’s leadership, provides an important answer that global brands are looking for to engage – truly engage – with their customers across all these platforms,” said Kim Wiencken, a partner at NorthCap Partners and an investor in Zmags. “This is an exciting time for the entire industry and I’m looking forward to watching Michael’s – and Zmags’ – continued success.”

Schreck was most recently CEO and president of Corrective Solutions, one of the country’s leading business services and government services companies.  Schreck expanded its government-and-merchant client base nationally to include some of the largest retailers in the country, including: Wal-Mart, Target, CVS, Kroger, Nordstrom and nearly 150 District Attorneys across 20 states. Previously, Schreck was a co-founder and a general partner at General Catalyst Partners and helped build several companies from inception, including m-Qube, Upromise, and SmartBargains as well as serving on the board of CoreMetrics.  Collectively these companies were acquired for over $1 Billion by VeriSign, SLM, GSI Commerce, and IBM respectively.

Schreck earned his MBA from Harvard Business School and his BA from Brigham Young University.  Schreck served as a strategy consultant at McKinsey & Company and Monitor Company after graduation.  Schreck currently serves on a number of private boards and the Presidential Advisory Council at Brigham Young University.

About Zmags

Zmags delivers an on-demand, rich media merchandising and analytics platform to 3,000 of the world’s most progressive brands and retailers. The Company’s SaaS service enables its clients to design and deliver personalized interactive online catalogs and digital magazines that dramatically increase shopper engagement and conversion rates across virtually any mobile device or social media – whether on an iPad, iPhone, browser, or within Facebook. End-users who engage with brands via the Zmags digital experience are twice as likely to convert from prospects to buyers versus other e-commerce channels. Zmags, based in Boston with offices in London, Copenhagen, and Los Angeles, boasts a client base of a “who’s-who” of retailers, e-commerce, technology leaders, and global brands. Current customers include: 40% of apparel companies and over 20% of retailers listed on the Fortune 500 and 55% of automotive firms and 60% of business services organizations from the Global 100. Its private equity backers include both European and North American sources. For more information, please visit www.zmags.com.

About OpenView

OpenView Venture Partners is an expansion stage venture capital fund with a focus on high-growth software, Internet, and technology-enabled companies. Through its staff of seasoned operating executives, who collectively bring several decades of technology and management experience to the firm, OpenView is able to help portfolio companies with quickly ramping up Product, Go-To-Market, and Organizational and Operational functions to best practice levels. The firm was founded in 2006 and has a total capital under management of approximately $240 million. OpenView Venture Partners is based in Boston and invests on a worldwide basis.

About NorthCap Partners

NorthCap Partners is a Scandinavian focused venture capital company headquartered in Denmark. NorthCap Partners is formed by a team of experienced professionals with a strong track record of developing technology businesses.