Can I still continue with this cofounder?

Edit to the above:

At 1pm his “plans” show up and he leaves, after having worked on the startup for 1.5h.

--> His "plans" showed up at 11am, not 1pm.

Seems like, professionally, the biggest question here is how easily you can replace his language ability (and how cost effectively). Beyond that, how much formal paperwork has been done is a factor. If you already have any sort of incorporation documents, you may not be able to easily sever ties.

Assuming you can split up, it seems safe to bet that he's not going to rush to beat you to market with your idea. Whether you want to give any weight in your decision-making calculus to whether he'll remain a friend is a question of your individual priorities, but it seems like a worthwhile consideration too.

Don't waste another minute and move on. He's doing the opposite of helping.

What is your equity split? I knew someone who gave his "cofounder" 10 percent yet wanted the same amount of dedication as himself and couldn't see why the guy didn't seem motivated.

Visualize where you'll be in 2 years with this guy,

( there's your answer )

Run fast and run hard. Try to work something in your language or use google. Basically he's stringing himself along waiting for you to make millions. Fuck his friendship. If he doesn't ship up and shape out he has to leave the company and if he plays the friend card he's a douche.

Either make something for yourself and leave him or do all the work and pay him.

At my first startup, I had a cofounder who was similarly iffy on his commitment. Also similar to you, even though I noticed signs of his lack of commitment early on, there were specific reasons I felt I needed him (his family ended up being our seed investor). Two years later, the startup crumbled into dust- driven in a large part by the fact that I had no one to share the weight with.

There are three outcomes to your scenario. In order of increasing desirability, (1) you continue to work with him, using a combination of cajoling and pressure to get him to do what you need him to do. But it's not enough in the long run to sustain the demands of a startup. Eventually, startup fails, and you've lost a few years of your life. (2) He quits soon. Which probably makes you freak out but fortunately forces you to figure out how to keep going without him earlier, rather than later. (3) You choose to stop working with him. This is probably the hardest decision to take, because you might feel some version of 'what am I going to do without him?' The answer is "you'll figure it out, because you care enough to (unlike him)." If you take this decision, there will be temporary pain followed by a deep and powerful sense of pride and ownership with the hard decision you were able to take.

Whatever you decide, I wish you the best. Good luck!

I feel for you. Im going through nearly the exact thing, except I am working full time on my startup (I have another gig that feeds me). My cofounder works on the software at night (he isnt even a developer, but the guy who came up with the idea) and pretty much nothing else. And to top it off, he is going through a divorce.

For instance, I've told him he wasnt holding his own..about 7-8 times now. He says what do you want me do? I say post something on Twitter or Facebook. Help me drive sales by calling contacts. Anything but not just software work with the developer.

Result: nothing has changed.

My advice is...Im not sure. My gut tells me find another partner, if possible, and have a talk with your cofounder telling him you need someone more committed. You can keep your shares, but we need a new partner, so it will cost you and him some equity.

My man, he's lost the motivation to work on the startup. Its very simple as an outsider to see that he doesn't care. You'll get more done in this situation as a sole founder with 100% equity. Launch your product, get some traction and then go from there.

He isn't motivated in the same way as you are. That or he isn't focused enough, also a clear possibility. Try to find out why. Does he have an incentive? Does he value the product? Is he passionate? Another question is your own passion. Are you self driven enough to do this yourself? It seems to me like you certainly are based on the above. If the sole reason you told me he's your cofounder is because you asked him and because he can speak a foreign language I would be suspicious and recommend think about whether or not this is a good relationship to mix with business to begin with. You cofounder needs to be someone with his/her own personal and vested interest in the company's vision and product.