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Brutal Startup Failure

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21–30 of 33 posts

Re: Brutal Startup Failure

#21
That's brutal man, wish you better luck ahead.

Granted I've only got started on this journey a few months ago, but I tried to find a co-founder and failed 3 times to find someone who I can trust and is capable. I think I'm just going to do it myself because counting on someone else at this stage while giving up significant equity to a bozo is a recipe for disaster.

Re: Brutal Startup Failure

#22

Sad to see this but thanks for posting as a cautionary tale. I think you made the right decision to resign. Hope you take care of your mental health and have some much needed rest!

Thanks. Hope other founders will see this as well... Cannot build an house without a good foundation

Re: Brutal Startup Failure

#23

That's brutal man, wish you better luck ahead. Granted I've only got started on this journey a few months ago, but I tried to find a co-founder and failed 3 times to find someone who I can trust and is capable. I think I'm just going to do it myself because counting on someone else at this stage while giving up significant equity to a bozo is a recipe for disaster.

Yes... Cofounders should be people that you have been knowing for years.

It is very easy to fuck it up

Re: Brutal Startup Failure

#25

As an aside did you get some salary while working on it. Are investors happy for some of the 1.2m to be founder salary. Asking for a friend.

Yes but way below market rate. Honestly, that's my mistake, I could have negotiate it better and asked for more. I did not think about the worst case scenarios enough.

Good investors understand the benefits of founders mental health and should not push you to work for free.

Re: Brutal Startup Failure

#26

That's brutal man, wish you better luck ahead. Granted I've only got started on this journey a few months ago, but I tried to find a co-founder and failed 3 times to find someone who I can trust and is capable. I think I'm just going to do it myself because counting on someone else at this stage while giving up significant equity to a bozo is a recipe for disaster.

Yes... Cofounders should be people that you have been knowing for years. It is very easy to fuck it up

I feel like a lot of people just want to call themselves a founder. They don’t want to do research/sales outreach and they can’t help with building.

I’m a swe and I’ve done everything from cleaning pantries to delivering on 100 million plus projects. So I can do anything. But I also don’t know a lot and love learning and figuring stuff out. I wish I could find someone who could compliment me well.

Re: Brutal Startup Failure

#27
sorry to hear the stress that your cofounder caused. how did you know them before the venture?

cofounder arguments are common, esp in crypto. for your next venture, it's better to have a cofounder agreement with vesting schedule in place. once someone becomes irrational and unreasonable, it's a sign to get lawyers involved.

dont be too hard on yourself, happens to the best of us.

Re: Brutal Startup Failure

#28
If you're still reading this, could you say more about how you found your co-founder?

And do you have thoughts on how next time you'd go about picking one differently?

Re: Brutal Startup Failure

#29
post #28

If you're still reading this, could you say more about how you found your co-founder? And do you have thoughts on how next time you'd go about picking one differently?

Uni friend. We had aligned interests. But the red flags have always being there.

Great question. I'll try to have a trial period on the job. Set a high bar for integrity and execution. And then legal vesting...

Re: Brutal Startup Failure

#30
post #27

sorry to hear the stress that your cofounder caused. how did you know them before the venture? cofounder arguments are common, esp in crypto. for your next venture, it's better to have a cofounder agreement with vesting schedule in place. once someone becomes irrational and unreasonable, it's a sign to get lawyers involved. dont be too hard on yourself, happens to the best of us.

Cofounder was a uni friend. I was introduced to the investor by a common friend, but needed to do more dd.

Agree on the vesting. Rookie mistake. Also on the investor part - surprisingly they never asked it.

Will make sure to involve a good lawyer as soon as possible in the next venture

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