Startups Anonymous Est. 2013 · Read-only archive
Stories

I don’t know if I want to continue because of my co-founder

It’s my second startup and I we have just finished successfully an acceleration program. The company looks interesting, there might be a great opportunity ahead of us, although I am tired of my Co-Founder.

He is 15 years older than me and has a great financial background, however, he doesn’t know anything about building a company.

He is not proactive, doesn’t understand anything about digital tools, struggles to communicate with others and I need to motivate him all the time. It’s like he just wants to find a job that takes him to the retirement.

He expects me to be the boss, but I don’t need an employee but rather a co-founder.

I wish I had chosen someone with the ambition to do great things and build amazing products. Shit.

 

1 answer from the community

AAnonymous· May 14, 2017

Had this same problem, and it's brutal.

If you're CEO remember investors invest heavily in <em>you</em>.

Getting rid of this person does signal leadership, and finding a self-driven individual shows your leadership.

I shut a company in part to get away from this type of person, and now make sure hardcore equity <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clawback" rel="nofollow">clawbacks</a> are in place to prevent losing equity to unworthy, <em>playing house</em> co-founders.