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I just want to walk away from it now, as I can't move forward with the project. What should I do? Do I have to officially dissolve the corporation somehow? I'm really disinclined to ask a lawyer for anything, as I'm already totally broke.
Suggestions?
If you do want to go forward with this, it sounds like you'll need a co-founder. That means giving-up equity and convincing someone to work with you. (PG often says that if you can't convince someone to go into business with you, then it's probably a bad idea.)
So if you can build a prototype or at least a mock-up, and if you can get a co-founder onboard, then you can consider applying to an accelerator or incubator.
Build the company first, the product later.
I think most people on HN would agree that before incorporating, its smart to build a product and prove its viability/desirability. Except, of course, in capital intensive situations where funding (and thus incorporation) comes first.
What is your skill set? Are you a developer or designer yourself? How much of your project can you build on your own? If you do want to go forward with this, it sounds like you'll need a co-founder. That means giving-up equity and convincing someone to work with you. (PG often says that if you can't convince someone to go into business with you, then it's probably a bad idea.) So if you can build a prototype or at le…
I've learned that the most important thing is building a product, and that the actual incorporation can be done later. You technically don't even need a real corporation until much later in the process than you would expect (I have friends who run successful businesses as sole proprietorships).
As for what you can do now, IANAL, but having been in a similar situation myself (startup died and I was left with a C-Corp), you have a bunch of options. You can dissolve it right now, or hold on to it for a while to see if something else takes off. There's a certain minimum amount that having a company will cost you in taxes and fees (about a grand a year if you're in CA, and likely less if you're elsewhere). For a Delaware Corp that's actually elsewhere, you need to pay for a registered agent, which is like $200 a year. You need to file some report and pay some tax to Delaware as well, but the time/money involved with that requirement is pretty minimal.
If you want to dissolve it yourself, it isn't that hard. There are a bunch of forms you need to fill out, but it isn't all that difficult to do so (you can find them online). You could just let it die (if you don't pay the taxes/fees, it will eventually get shut down).