4 ms·

Well of course he is going to put in less effort than you, because he only has 1/4 of the shares that you do. Next time when you permanently give shares upfron

Well of course he is going to put in less effort than you, because he only has 1/4 of the shares that you do. Next time when you permanently give shares upfront (no vesting period) be very sure what you are getting into and even consider formalizing the nature of the relationship and the level of expectation in exchange for those shares in writing (very least in email) I think the best you can do is have a constructive but frank discusaion with the co-founder. Asking him if he would be willing to come to arrangement to part ways but reconsider (at least part) of his shareholding since he will no longer be participating and you will need to replace him. You could also try to get at the bottom of his lack of motivation (though is motivation is missing its not something that you can give to someone else)- Rather try to figure out of this is a temporary slump, or a long term "new normal". Also find out if something has changed in his life circumstances making it harder or less ideal to make time for the startup. Once you have the facts, then at least you guys have a basis for an honest discussion. Partnerships are NEVER easy.

ajeet_dhaliwal 11y ago
I agree with the idea of having a frank discussion with the co-founder but with respect to motivation I'm not sure it's going to be simple to get to the source of the true reason. Motivation is why I struggle with finding cofounders. I have a number of good friends who I know well, even went to school with, some of them are programmers just like I am. However they can't be cofounders because they're too happy with their lives to be motivated enough to work like I do. We have similar lives, they're just very content with the status quo, I'm not. It may be that this person could offer more shares and still get no more time out of the person, this is such a difficult problem to solve.
- rday 11y ago
  As a bitter old dev with many failed startups behind me, I find this a tad insulting. This isn't an attack response, but maybe I can provide some perspective from the other side. I work really hard. I organize multiple meetups. I give talks. I do open source(not well, but I try). I have a full time job making way more than the "status quo" working from my basement. "Founders" are very quick to discard all of this, and ask me to put my full efforts into their idea for this equity concept. They tend to provide no incentive other than how their idea is the one that will make it. I'm very motivated. Especially when I see the results of my years of effort everyday. Why throw this all away to work on somebody else's vision of success?
estefan 11y ago
> Next time when you permanently give shares upfront (no vesting period) be very sure what you are getting into and even consider formalizing the nature of the relationship and the level of expectation in exchange for those shares in writing (very least in email) I'm no expert, but every book I've read has said to never do this. Always make equity vest and always include clauses to cover unexpected eventualities, either malicious or just changes in circumstances. Otherwise there's nothing you can do as soon as they have the shares if they literally do nothing at all. Apparently Bill Gates made this mistake as well...

ajeet_dhaliwal 11y ago

I agree with the idea of having a frank discussion with the co-founder but with respect to motivation I'm not sure it's going to be simple to get to the source of the true reason. Motivation is why I struggle with finding cofounders. I have a number of good friends who I know well, even went to school with, some of them are programmers just like I am. However they can't be cofounders because they're too happy with their lives to be motivated enough to work like I do. We have similar lives, they're just very content with the status quo, I'm not. It may be that this person could offer more shares and still get no more time out of the person, this is such a difficult problem to solve.

rday 11y ago
As a bitter old dev with many failed startups behind me, I find this a tad insulting. This isn't an attack response, but maybe I can provide some perspective from the other side. I work really hard. I organize multiple meetups. I give talks. I do open source(not well, but I try). I have a full time job making way more than the "status quo" working from my basement. "Founders" are very quick to discard all of this, and ask me to put my full efforts into their idea for this equity concept. They tend to provide no incentive other than how their idea is the one that will make it. I'm very motivated. Especially when I see the results of my years of effort everyday. Why throw this all away to work on somebody else's vision of success?

estefan 11y ago

> Next time when you permanently give shares upfront (no vesting period) be very sure what you are getting into and even consider formalizing the nature of the relationship and the level of expectation in exchange for those shares in writing (very least in email) I'm no expert, but every book I've read has said to never do this. Always make equity vest and always include clauses to cover unexpected eventualities, either malicious or just changes in circumstances. Otherwise there's nothing you can do as soon as they have the shares if they literally do nothing at all. Apparently Bill Gates made this mistake as well...