Startups Anonymous Est. 2013 · Read-only archive
Confessions

My friend and I are co-CEOs. This was great at the beginning when everything was 50/50. Now that we raised $700k in seed capital, my friend’s megalomania is getting to be a problem. He’s micromanaging and bullying everyone. How do I fix this?

10 answers from the community

AAnonymous· Jul 8, 2014

Tell him you own 50% so he needs your cooperation to do anything and you'd be passive aggressive as hell if he doesn't stop being a bully.

AAnonymous· Jul 8, 2014

Original poster here. I really didn't see it coming. Something in his personality just unlocked all of a sudden after we got the money. We've definitely talked about it but I only recently found out that he kept doing it behind my back. It's like dealing with a child. Is there any legal way of reducing his share? Didn't facebook screw one of their co-founders by setting up another corporate entity and reducing his share in the new company?

AAnonymous· Jul 9, 2014

How do you consider yourself a startup CEO if you can't even research what facebook did? It was in a god damn hollywood blockbuster movie, even!

This site is full of trolls.

AAnonymous· Jul 9, 2014

Like you.

AAnonymous· Jul 9, 2014

So what?

AAnonymous· Jul 13, 2014

Really ? If one does not know what happen in FB case he can not call himself CEO ? Only troll here is you ...

AAnonymous· Jul 8, 2014

Divide out the workload and create clear decision-making lines. Otherwise you're confusing your employees as well.

AAnonymous· Jul 9, 2014

++++

AAnonymous· Jul 9, 2014

This is the only solution. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubwUfyhm4Vs

AAnonymous· Jul 14, 2014

This is probably why the VCs don't like 50/50 companies. Even if it is 51/49 someone should have final say.

Other than talking it out as another poster noted, if you have a board you can start chatting offline with the investors but be warned you will look like probably more of a pain than you want at this stage.