Ask HN: My startup has concealed from me that it raised funding. What to do?

Given the amount of money involved, the potential damage to your career, and the possibility that you will have deadlines related to tax returns/payments coming up after which you might not be able to fix some of this, I would suggest you do the following, concurrently:

1. Find an accountant.

2. Find a lawyer.

3. Keep written notes of everything, including copies of any relevant electronic communications and details of anything significant that was said to you verbally or on a call, by whom, and when.

4. Possibly start recording any future calls, but check the legality of doing so in your jurisdiction and any notice requirements first. (Don't ask the Internet, ask your lawyer.)

5. Don't talk to anyone at work about what you're doing until you've received proper professional advice.

Make sure the accountant and lawyer are yours, not the company's. Their advisors will have a conflict of interest and can't/shouldn't advise you personally as well. In any case, there is a possibility that the company lawyers and/or accountants have committed serious breaches of professional ethics and/or crimes here.

Make sure all your records are completely under your control, so if they kick you out of their electronic systems and the building at a moment's notice you still have all your evidence.

And from a practical point of view, don't assume malice or that this will end badly, because it may well just have been a naive but innocent screw-up, but do assume that whatever happens you might need another job by the end of this process and plan accordingly just in case.

And obviously don't post any more details publicly.

You have every right to feel disgusted and cheated among other things but don't assume those feelings to be true.

However hard it might be, keep your mind clear and free of things that might upset you. Remove yourself from the circumstance mentally as if you were advocating on a friend's behalf. Don't let your emotions cloud your judgement. Sometimes you can become so jaded that you manufacture self-fulfilling prophecies.

With a clear head, exercise every option possible. I'd absolutely contact a lawyer and plan for a future that looks dramatically different but don't jump ship quite yet. Talk with your legal advisers about what the best next steps are and carefully execute in conformance with their advice.

Figure out what's really going on but be prepared in every aspect possible (emotionally, financially, legally) for whatever might be around the next corner. Don't get caught on your heels.

Best luck to you; it seems like a very unfortunate situation.

Good question!

They tricked us into signing up to some sort of gentleman's agreement where they folded the company and re-launched as a charity (or something weird like that). Basically, they said, if you chase us for the money, you'll take us down, then you won't get any money. If you let us do this our way you'll get your money if it all works out. So they fairly well held us to ransom.

I don't recall how it all worked out in the end but we definitely got some (all?) of the money - I recall my boss telling me we'd received a payment a good year or two later!

I was pretty amazed at how few rights and options we had in the situation. We had the lawyers talking us through our options at every step and they said there wasn't a lot else we could do.

That was one of a catalogue of mischievous plays I witnessed there. We were a company that were very honest and ethically sound so it was always sort of shocking to see others acting dishonestly.

The whole situation ended up being somewhat overshadowed by the accountant nicking £50k from the company savings!

I've definitely learnt to make sure you're covered as much as possible in business. Always get everything in writing and be aware that sometimes people don't act in good faith. At my current startup, my co-founder and I have a fairly all guns blazing approach to people not paying their invoices on time (we start chasing before it's even late).

The best approach is to go directly to the founders and ask them to help you. Literaly use those words. Such an approach makes them stake their integrity and avoid hostility. Ask them for assistance. Best way to resolve a conflict. Keep calm, talk with the people involved and voice your concerns directly. Be cool, don't act frantic. Ask every possible question, and tell them how it made you feel, do not keep you thoughts hidden, level with them. The most important - be patient and cool. Find out everything you can. It will become clear quickly, either you're being screwed or there's been a mistake. Then you can choose a course of action. Even if you're being screwed, act cool be patient and firm. Deal with it professionally.

I'm being literal. It works.

If you look at my posting history, you'll notice that I have little care for the laws of man. Do the right thing, always. If it's legal, good for the law. If it's illegal, break the law.

But break it properly, so that after you're done breaking it, it will take a long time for legalists to repair it and people have time to consider that they may be better off without it.

Now in this case, locking people in with you is excessive. But, making it clear that it's easier to say truth than to push you aside is appropriate.