Share0
Tweet0
Share0
Share0
Tweet0
Share0

Co-founder, quit or stay

Looping through this for months now. Stuck in limbo. Worked for minimum wage the past three years, always the big prize on the horizon. I only own single digit percentages of the company. Product has been delayed beyond counting. Team is growing, new investors come in. But I’m at the end of my power, burn-out is imminent. Management is a mess because no core members have time and are working 24/7 either in the product or extinguishing fire after fire on all fronts.

Leaving now would leave some of production in shambles and would make investors probably pull out. On the other hand I just can’t make it anymore. The things I have to do now greatly changed from what I actually like to do. I tell myself that it will be worth it when we break through but that is the situation for the past 2 years. Also my stake in the company is basically too small to make a fuss about. But when I leave now the only thing I keep is experience in a field I basically don’t ever plan in acquiring and also doesn’t resonate with me.

I am emotionally tied to the project but I also see that I will never again feel fulfilled in what I am doing here. I’m not the manager type and the amount of complexity in current management is completely turning off the entire creative process which was the primary reason I started this.

This question is tearing me apart and it’s so prominent that I can’t think about anything else. It’s miserable.

 

  • If you have to ask, leave. Don’t dare be upset if the little stake you have turns out to be millions. It happens overnight for no one. You’re looking at 5-7 years before you even achieve enough for your stake to mean anything.

    Reply

    • Op here. Yeah the fact that my stake is negligible isn’t helping to keep the “eyes on the prize”. I would not lose the stake when I leave tho. No such lawyery in place. However, I was told countless times that my share will be increased (so did others in the company) but all those promises were not kept. Only change of my stake so far was that it has been diluted due to more water coming into the pool. I don’t know if I can trust people anymore or if they are just completely overworked or in the worst case, outright lying to keep up the illusion. The line is blurry. Yet I do have to manage my private expenses like a pro while others in the company earn more than the founders themselves. The company was days away from bankruptcy more than I can count and when I look at the projected markup once we ship and all the things “upper management” wants to achieve, then compare with what’s there, I only see a dark cloud of “how the fuck is that supposed to work”. Now you can say keep your head down and keep on working for the eventual breakeven. But even when I mention the discrepancy of reality vs expectation I get ignored. There is no will to even plan a few months ahead and the only reason the project is still there is due to the remarkable ability of one person to bend reality and make everybody feel good again. Or at least better. I ran a successful company before but on a much smaller scale than the project currently resides and therefore know what it means to “stay hard” and manage money tightly. But this is a new level and I don’t know anymore wether my gut feeling of “wtf” is due to it all being one shoe size too large or actually says more about the current direction we are headed. I feel sometimes used, but can’t say wether it’s because I’m too tired or wether that’s normal.. The normality is long gone. And I sincerely question wether it’s worth ruining your private life (average work weeks of 80 hours) for a carrot swinging in front of you.

      Reply

    • I strongly disagree with the first comment ( probably from a VC or a poseur, not a real entrepreneur) it is very normal to be scared.

      Stake is important, but you didn’t do it for the carrot, you never did. Or else you chose wrong from day one.

      Do it for the adventure, maybe for your company mission or maybe because you couldn’t do anything else. Would you be happier in a normal job ? I don’t think so. Normal jobs scares me shitless…

      Working 80 hours a week is a big mistake though. I does not make you work more. It makes you work less and degrades everything you do and touch.

      My advice. Stay were you are, two years isn’t that much for a startup. But work less, much less, get a little higher salary if possible at all, make your situation livable and enjoy the ride.

      Reply

  • Hi, I am experiencing similar thoughts and doubts and feeling the same way you described in my current position in a startup. I’m wondering what you ended up doing and how you feel about that decision now almost two years later. Thanks

    Reply
    • {"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}

    You may also like

    >