3 ms·

You're right: 1 person can't replace you. Can 3? Can 5? You must reorganize, if merely to save your sanity. Hire 1 person and start training them, then hire

You're right: 1 person can't replace you. Can 3? Can 5? You must reorganize, if merely to save your sanity. Hire 1 person and start training them, then hire the next. For 1 week, write down everything that you do for your company, and then group the like tasks in order to figure out how many/what type of person(people) to hire/train. Start looking for that person, while writing down everything that you do the 2nd week. Rinse and repeat as you go through the month/quarter, and you should develop a better idea of what it will take to replace you. The LOI writers know that you are doing the job of multiple people, and that you are indispensable, and that's why they want to require you to stay. Make yourself replaceable, and then there would be no need for you to stay. Work from a beach if you want, but take action now to permanently lessen your stress. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk (or just vent) privately. You can find me through info in my HN profile.

touchofevil 9y ago
+1 for this. I think the idea of hiring a small team to replace yourself is the way to go OP.
anmolparashar 9y ago
+1 Hire Product Managers and groom them a bit to become Product Owners. I'd suggest doing it before the acquisition.
theparanoid 9y ago
They already said "it's been hard to retain developers." One retention method is paying a fuckload of money.
- linkregister 9y ago
  Another method is to provide a path for career progression. It sounds like the solution for "I'm overloaded" is "give more responsibility to bored employees."
- ryandrake 9y ago
  ...which presumably you now have because you're being acquired.
LeifCarrotson 9y ago
Another note is that if you're irreplaceable and your (potential) customers or your investors know this, your company is less valuable. If they don't know about the problem, it's still less valuable but you may be able to pretend it's more stable than it is. Having a non-unity bus factor is not only good for your sanity (you can take breaks, or quit) but also good financially. And even if you continue working, increased documentation and sharing domain knowledge can only make the day-to-day go more smoothly.

touchofevil 9y ago

+1 for this. I think the idea of hiring a small team to replace yourself is the way to go OP.

anmolparashar 9y ago

+1 Hire Product Managers and groom them a bit to become Product Owners. I'd suggest doing it before the acquisition.

theparanoid 9y ago

They already said "it's been hard to retain developers." One retention method is paying a fuckload of money.

linkregister 9y ago
Another method is to provide a path for career progression. It sounds like the solution for "I'm overloaded" is "give more responsibility to bored employees."
ryandrake 9y ago
...which presumably you now have because you're being acquired.

LeifCarrotson 9y ago

Another note is that if you're irreplaceable and your (potential) customers or your investors know this, your company is less valuable. If they don't know about the problem, it's still less valuable but you may be able to pretend it's more stable than it is. Having a non-unity bus factor is not only good for your sanity (you can take breaks, or quit) but also good financially. And even if you continue working, increased documentation and sharing domain knowledge can only make the day-to-day go more smoothly.