Ask HN: CTO wants me to leave • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: CTO wants me to leave

#91

Post by notastartup » Sun, Apr 13, 2014, 4:34 AM UTC

He has NO point. He has no right to mouth you off like this. Take a cue from The Social Network.

    [leans down close to Mark, his voice low and dangerous] 
    And I'll bet what you hated the most was that they 
    identified me as a co-founder of Facebook, which I am. 
    You better lawyer up asshole, because I'm not coming 
    back for 30%, I'm coming back for EVERYTHING.
    
    [backs away from Mark slowly, still looking at him]

Hint, that is what you should be getting ready to do. If he runs his mouth like this again, fire his ass, he's trying to snake his way in.

Re: Ask HN: CTO wants me to leave

#92

Post by rmrfrmrf » Sun, Apr 13, 2014, 4:39 AM UTC

gtCameron wrote: post #9

The question I would try and answer if I were in your shoes is the following: Does he want me to leave the company or does he want me to stop writing production code for the product? If its the first one, there is likely a personal issue between the two of you that needs to be resolved one way or another. If you think the second option is what he is really trying to communicate, then I would look for other opportunit…

I was under the impression that "co-founder" carried a lot more weight than CTO; is this not the case? My gut feeling was that, if I were in the co-founder's shoes, I'd fire the CTO immediately.

Re: Ask HN: CTO wants me to leave

#93

Post by midas007 » Sun, Apr 13, 2014, 4:41 AM UTC

Founders need to find more ways to be useful.

If you have the hustle, get going on sales and biz dev.

Because all the coding talent in the world doesn't matter if customers aren't buying or don't know about your app.

Re: Ask HN: CTO wants me to leave

#94

Post by suren » Sun, Apr 13, 2014, 4:41 AM UTC

Clearly, you are not being valued in this company. At best they are looking at you as cheap labour for next 3-6 months. At worst, you are a founder and a founder leaving is going to raise questions during funding. (Thats why he wants you to leave after 3-6 months after you have raised and not before).

Did you have a launched product/customers when the CTO joined? From your post, I gather that is a no. If so, then your CTO feels you don't deserve your stock. Him and your CEO are trying to cut you off.

Your CEO has not supported you either. He should have been the one talking to you. Not someone you hired unless the CTO has more stake than you which seems unlikely.

If he really thinks you are no longer the right fit for the company, he should have offered to vest you for your money and the time you have put in. And if your work is "not good enough" they should be asking you to leave immediately and not when it is convenient for them. You can't be both needed desperately and not good enough at the same time. To that end, I feel your CTO's ask immature, short sighted and greedy to say the least.

Talk to a lawyer, figure out a deal you could be okay with, try and get that and leave. Them yet to raise another round is a good bargaining chip for you.

Re: Ask HN: CTO wants me to leave

#95

Post by midas007 » Sun, Apr 13, 2014, 4:43 AM UTC

avenger123 wrote: post #19

It looks like you have real equity in the company and there is possible traction in the business. You are a co-founder. That counts for a lot. I am also assuming that your equity stake is significant. First of all, deal with this right now. Don't wait for the 3-6 months. You are basically being told that once they have raised money, they will find a way to get you out. Right now, it's a fishing expedition between the…

It also might depend if they were smart and have a vesting schedule for everyone. But that also means pushing people out may be selfishly advantageous in the short term, so it really matters to have known your cofounders long before the current venture.

Re: Ask HN: CTO wants me to leave

#96

Post by lawnchair_larry » Sun, Apr 13, 2014, 4:49 AM UTC

rmrfrmrf wrote: post #92

gtCameron wrote: post #9

The question I would try and answer if I were in your shoes is the following: Does he want me to leave the company or does he want me to stop writing production code for the product? If its the first one, there is likely a personal issue between the two of you that needs to be resolved one way or another. If you think the second option is what he is really trying to communicate, then I would look for other opportunit…

I was under the impression that "co-founder" carried a lot more weight than CTO; is this not the case? My gut feeling was that, if I were in the co-founder's shoes, I'd fire the CTO immediately.

This would be dumb though, because it would tank your company.

Re: Ask HN: CTO wants me to leave

#97

Post by darksim905 » Sun, Apr 13, 2014, 4:53 AM UTC

He's throwing you out & fucking you over. If you're a founder you stay a founder unless you did something horribly bad.

Re: Ask HN: CTO wants me to leave

#98

Post by dmourati » Sun, Apr 13, 2014, 4:55 AM UTC

I'd move against him, and quickly. Tell the CEO you need unity not divisiveness. You are all for working with the new CTO but he is trying to force you out of the company you founded. There is only one way to deal with people like this: decisively. The fact that you've come here to ask for opinions on this matter suggests that you may lack the inner confidence to survive in a startup. Take this as a learning opportunity. Bone up on your technical skills, hire people smarter than you. Realize that you've been identified as a less than top-tier software developer and use that information to help you figure out where your skills can best help the company succeed. Good luck, move now and go for the jugular.

Re: Ask HN: CTO wants me to leave

#99

Post by Paddywack » Sun, Apr 13, 2014, 5:01 AM UTC

I had something like this happen to me (on a larger scale) - I folded, and regretted it for years.

Firstly - go straight to see a lawyer. Do not consider anything else before you have done this. Play hard, don't blink!

Secondly. If things don't go your way, play the long game and take your time. Make sure that they know that this will not be resolved quickly, and that having this hanging over them will frustrate their attempts to raise capital.

Behind the scenes this is what I think is going on:

1) The CTO is more experienced, and thinks he is entitled to more than you as a result (you seem to agree that you are relatively inexperienced). He cares little about loyalty and honour as he was not there to see you slogging it out in the early days.

2) What you have set up must be worthwhile and be starting to get valuable, otherwise you would not have attracted a "good" CTO.

3) My thoughts are this is part of the play to attract equity:

- They probably don't want to dilute too much, so would love to grab your shares back before the deal so that they can neaten things out for the new investor

- They probably want the new deal to include shares for the CTO. He is probably niggling for this, and the CEO would prefer to take yours than dilute his.

- They want to put forward a team that has the most value for fund raising. They want solid credentials, and probably feel that yours don't fit the bill.

Good luck hey!

Re: Ask HN: CTO wants me to leave

#100

Post by hoodoof » Sun, Apr 13, 2014, 5:04 AM UTC

Paddywack wrote: post #99

I had something like this happen to me (on a larger scale) - I folded, and regretted it for years. Firstly - go straight to see a lawyer. Do not consider anything else before you have done this. Play hard, don't blink! Secondly. If things don't go your way, play the long game and take your time. Make sure that they know that this will not be resolved quickly, and that having this hanging over them will frustrate thei…

What happened to you?