If you are concerned with what happens to your code if the business doesn't work out. Then you might be able to put it in writing that if you split up (within a reasonable amount of time), then code copyright falls to you. He might have the same feelings, in regards of frontend and graphics. Think of it as a prenup to your business-wedding.
Ask HN: What do I tell my co-founder when he asks access to the source code?
21–30 of 39 posts
Re: Ask HN: What do I tell my co-founder when he asks access to the source code?
#22[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: What do I tell my co-founder when he asks access to the source code?
#23[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: What do I tell my co-founder when he asks access to the source code?
#24You tell him 'here's how you access the source code.' After all, it's his company too. You shouldn't have found a cofounder if you're not willing to do this.
What if he tells me the next week - "my dear friend, I have some other priorities in life, I won't be able to focus on building the startup anymore??" And 3 months down the line I later realize, some friend of his, is running a similar startup??
What if you were tell him the same thing?
Why on earth is he to trust you, but not vice versa?
You two are now equals and peers and it's time for you to start acting like it. If that's unacceptable to you then you never should have put yourself into this situation - a cofounder is not an employee.
Re: Ask HN: What do I tell my co-founder when he asks access to the source code?
#25I actually feel this is a valid concern, but only when the person is not referred to as a 'cofounder'. Cofounders should be in at the ground floor together. It sounds like he should be employee #1 or an independent contractor if you don't trust or know him well enough to share everything.
So, assuming we're actually talking about employee #1, I think having some measures in place is a smart idea. Just like a prenuptial agreement before marriage. Sure, you may be 'in love' with this person now, but people change, things can get nasty, and it's good to have thought ahead instead of being completely blinded by love/trust.
I know most people are saying 'the codebase is worth nothing', but depending on the project this may not be the case. We all like to look at successful software products and say "Meh, I could clone that in a weekend, it's not about the code", but in reality there are probably hundreds of edge cases that we haven't thought about until we're actually building it ourselves. As well as that, polish takes time. UI/UX polish, refactoring code, simplifying how components interact with each other, iterating, etc.
If somebody wants to go compete with you by building the product themselves, then wish them luck, because they have no idea how many intricacies there are in most software products, and by the time (months or years in the future) that they figure them all out, you'll already be way ahead.
But if they can just copy and paste a folder and be in the exact same starting position as you, then the only advantages you have are non-technical - which you should of course also have, but don't underestimate the value of a good technical advantage as well.
Re: Ask HN: What do I tell my co-founder when he asks access to the source code?
#26You tell him 'here's how you access the source code.' After all, it's his company too. You shouldn't have found a cofounder if you're not willing to do this.
What if he tells me the next week - "my dear friend, I have some other priorities in life, I won't be able to focus on building the startup anymore??" And 3 months down the line I later realize, some friend of his, is running a similar startup??
And what if he decides to keep going, to realize a few weeks later that you reused the very same source code to help building a company's friend?
I mean, everything goes both ways. Don't expect to be trusted if you can't trust
Re: Ask HN: What do I tell my co-founder when he asks access to the source code?
#27Why would you have a co-founder onboard whom you didn't trust with your codebase? It sounds like you either don't want a co-founder and just need a front-end contractor or you need embrace him/her as a co-founder and share your codebase.
Running it alone is pain, I can do things on my own, but that model does not scale. It takes too long. Besides I can't be expert at everything. So I need to add people with complementary skillsets. I make sure people gel well with me, but you can't give everything you got to a new comer, no matter how genuine he appears, right?
You haven't got a co-founder then, you've got an employee.
Re: Ask HN: What do I tell my co-founder when he asks access to the source code?
#28You have to learn to let go. People will do what they will do with or without your consent. Do your cofounder a favor and fire him/her.
Re: Ask HN: What do I tell my co-founder when he asks access to the source code?
#29Put together a contract that if things go south you keep the source code.
Re: Ask HN: What do I tell my co-founder when he asks access to the source code?
#30Put together a contract that if things go south you keep the source code.
its called a shareholders agreement.