> What are my options here?
Maybe you should be asking, what are their options? They can't force you to give away something you own.
Ask HN: Co-founder wants me to leave but won't entertain a buy out offer
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Re: Ask HN: Co-founder wants me to leave but won't entertain a buy out offer
#92Find two people to advise you, an attorney and someone with founder or angel experience. Gather up copies of all employment agreements etc + directly related correspondence for them to review. Don't sign anything, don't discuss this issue more with your cofounder until you get advice. Also don't read too much into anonymous internet commenters who don't know the details of your situation. You can be fired but you have some leverage because this kind of dispute is a red flag for any prospective investor. Feel free to e-mail me.
Re: Ask HN: Co-founder wants me to leave but won't entertain a buy out offer
#93@fortydegrees, if you would make $5k/mo with Adsense, then you can make $10-40k/mo if you worked with my company instead.
I'm not sure if that helps your leverage with equity negotiations or raising external money, but it will definitely help your bank accounts.
My link's in profile.
Re: Ask HN: Co-founder wants me to leave but won't entertain a buy out offer
#94I've been in tough founder situations. What I'd like to add to this conversation is: leaving is the right choice, find a way out, don't stay.
Re: Ask HN: Co-founder wants me to leave but won't entertain a buy out offer
#95I'd say first things first. You have 11 months and a one year cliff. Find a way to stall for a month and your position gets much stronger. This is a great environment to find a way to stall. Tell your co-founder to write up a proposal so that you can have a lawyer look at it. That's easy to turn into a month of stalling.
The reason this is happening right now is because the other founder is well aware of that cliff and losing 10% going forward.
Re: Ask HN: Co-founder wants me to leave but won't entertain a buy out offer
#96Sounds like you are in a good position. This is not legal advice so go seek your own licensed legal counsel.
If they don’t pay you the equity then they would not own your tech. Any revenue/profit they derive would be unjust enrichment.
Not to say that I’d even leave them with working tech. I’d disable everything I built today until we had a more equitable agreement.
No chance I’d let them profit from this tech alone anymore. At best I’d offer them a license to use it.
Then go start your own company with it and be the majority owner.
No need for the bad business partner.
Re: Ask HN: Co-founder wants me to leave but won't entertain a buy out offer
#97It's too late for this idea in this situation, but it might be of interest to others thinking about getting into a partnership. Because most partnerships eventually go south, there is something known as the "Shotgun Clause". (I don't know who named it this, but this is what I've always known it as.) If your partner wants you out and comes to you with a lowball offer, you can invoke the Shotgun Clause, which gives you…
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Re: Ask HN: Co-founder wants me to leave but won't entertain a buy out offer
#98Re: Ask HN: Co-founder wants me to leave but won't entertain a buy out offer
#99Re: Ask HN: Co-founder wants me to leave but won't entertain a buy out offer
#100I don’t know if you can still delete this, but this is way too specific and way too many people read HN for your co-founder to not see this.
I would email dang at hn@ycombinator.com to see if they can at least delete the body of this post.
Please seek legal advice and the personal advice of contact you can trust that has angel investment experience if you have one.