5 ms·

Cofounder of 2 person startup leaves 1 month before demo day

My cofounder just left our startup 1 month before demo day in our startup accelerator program citing that we didn't work well together. We had had issues in the past 2 months and he is definitely more high strung than I am. He told me this two days ago, completely out of the blue with nothing (that I can think of) that triggered it. I have a month to demo day and am stuck with both the business and tech side to build out. He didn't get any shares because we have a one year cliff and we started the company in Jan. Would really like to ask if others have had the same experience, your interpretation of the situation and any advice you might have. Thanks

adventured 9y ago
Honestly I don't think there's much to interpret. My opinion is that you either need to abandon the upcoming demo day goal - or if you feel that you absolutely must be ready for demo day (eg the project is dead for some reason if you don't), find someone to fill in extremely soon that you already have a high degree of trust and knowledge of (you know that you can get along with them, and you know their skillset). That person doesn't necessarily have to become a long-term part of the company, however the accelerator won't be thrilled by a short-term patch either, because it'll imply disruption in the near future anyway. You'll also reasonbly need to give the contributor a small amount of equity. Maybe you get lucky down that route and find a long-term new co-founder. If you don't already know some people you can potentially talk to about filling in for that role asap, then push off the demo day goal and take aim of a new goal. The sooner these decisions can be made, the better. See if your accelerator will bump you to their next demo day, if possible. If you need a co-founder for the next demo day, then immediately begin looking for one. My personal opinion would be to abandon the upcoming demo day and shift your horizon, unless everything is going to die if you don't make that. If you're confident your product is truly worth doing (take a bit of time here and now and confirm that for yourself), then it's still worth getting it ready for three or six months from now, instead of a month from now.
- fastnotfurious 9y ago
  Hi Adventured. Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately in this program, there is no way of pushing off the demo day to the next one. I definitely agree that getting another co-founder in such a short amount of time sounds like a rebound in a breakup and will be destined to fail. Guess I'm wondering how much does it affect my investment possibilities.
hoodoof 9y ago
Just be a single founder. Much easier.
- fastnotfurious 9y ago
  Definitely easier, but concerned about whether investors wouldn't touch the company. Any thoughts?
chetann 9y ago
Going solo would be an option, I have seen some of my friends going through similar situation and some of the worst too when things don't work between the founders. It's best to let go person and look for people who can work with you in long term.
- fastnotfurious 9y ago
  How much did that affect investors investing in the company come demo day? Could you describe what happened to your friends who went through similar stuff please?

adventured 9y ago

Honestly I don't think there's much to interpret. My opinion is that you either need to abandon the upcoming demo day goal - or if you feel that you absolutely must be ready for demo day (eg the project is dead for some reason if you don't), find someone to fill in extremely soon that you already have a high degree of trust and knowledge of (you know that you can get along with them, and you know their skillset). That person doesn't necessarily have to become a long-term part of the company, however the accelerator won't be thrilled by a short-term patch either, because it'll imply disruption in the near future anyway. You'll also reasonbly need to give the contributor a small amount of equity. Maybe you get lucky down that route and find a long-term new co-founder. If you don't already know some people you can potentially talk to about filling in for that role asap, then push off the demo day goal and take aim of a new goal. The sooner these decisions can be made, the better. See if your accelerator will bump you to their next demo day, if possible. If you need a co-founder for the next demo day, then immediately begin looking for one. My personal opinion would be to abandon the upcoming demo day and shift your horizon, unless everything is going to die if you don't make that. If you're confident your product is truly worth doing (take a bit of time here and now and confirm that for yourself), then it's still worth getting it ready for three or six months from now, instead of a month from now.

fastnotfurious 9y ago
Hi Adventured. Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately in this program, there is no way of pushing off the demo day to the next one. I definitely agree that getting another co-founder in such a short amount of time sounds like a rebound in a breakup and will be destined to fail. Guess I'm wondering how much does it affect my investment possibilities.

hoodoof 9y ago

Just be a single founder. Much easier.

fastnotfurious 9y ago
Definitely easier, but concerned about whether investors wouldn't touch the company. Any thoughts?

chetann 9y ago

Going solo would be an option, I have seen some of my friends going through similar situation and some of the worst too when things don't work between the founders. It's best to let go person and look for people who can work with you in long term.

fastnotfurious 9y ago
How much did that affect investors investing in the company come demo day? Could you describe what happened to your friends who went through similar stuff please?