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I originally started my HN account to ask what I should do when my cofounder screwed me out of $12.8 million I was owed as the result of the sale of our company

I originally started my HN account to ask what I should do when my cofounder screwed me out of $12.8 million I was owed as the result of the sale of our company that he forced me out of and sold without telling me. My username came from that era of my life. I cannot even begin to describe how different my life would be had my cofounder not done this. It is unlikely that I will ever again create something that valuable, and accordingly I have a profound sense of loss over it. So speaking from personal experience...while your anger is completely justified, you have to let it go, or it will destroy you. It’s just one of those things - a random, traumatic event that instantly and irrevocably changes the trajectory of your life, that you can do nothing about. These are jarring reminders that the world is a cold and unfair place, that the universe is not in fact looking out for us, and that people are not “mostly good” as many of us were raised to believe. But holding grudges, even against people that have inflicted unimaginable trauma on you, only hurts you.

zoba 6y ago
Yes you are correct. Thankfully, as mentioned, I have mostly moved on from this. This appears to be his first post on HN, so, I felt compelled to comment to make him aware that his presence in forums, etc can be upsetting to people. And, while I don't think he should necessarily retreat from forums... I just hope that he is conscious of how his presence and words may affect people.
Judgmentality 6y ago
> while your anger is completely justified, you have to let it go, or it will destroy you Cheers to you for this. I know I would not be able to do the same.
xwdv 6y ago
I really don't get how someone can casually screw someone out of such vast sums of money and not live in fear watching their back the rest of their life. They must really be confident the individual would remain mentally stable. Not everyone will just walk away quietly and meditate, some people will definitely try to find the best way to put a bullet in your head. If you're going to screw someone, you should at least come up with some cover story that shifts the blame away from you, and even then you better hope the truth isn't discovered.
- downandout 6y ago
  I was very angry at first, but yes, he knew that I was not the type of person that would put a bullet in his head. He didn’t do anything to shift blame - he couldn’t. My name was all over the patents the company held, so he couldn’t deny my participation. He simply stopped talking to me and then used his lawyers to attempt to silence me. Unfortunately, karma just is not a thing. Among more than a dozen homes he owns are two mansions in California, each over 10k sq ft (at least one of which was paid for with my money), within about 10 minutes of each other. One is on a bluff overlooking the ocean, and the other is more inland where he rides horses with his wife, who is roughly half his age and who was married to someone else until it became obvious to her then-husband that she was pregnant with my business partner’s child. Ironically, among his other business ventures today is a Christian magazine/movie production company. I will never see justice served upon him. He will continue to live a fabulous life and I, quite likely, won’t. But being angry over it does nothing for me.
  - xwdv 6y ago
    The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.
axiosgunnar 6y ago
Why do you believe you will never be able to start another project worth millions? If you did it once, you can do it again. You are even starting out ahead as you can impress investors with your past project!
- downandout 6y ago
  I have been trying ever since this happened, and so far have only had marginal success. You never know, I suppose, but that project sold for $64 million to a multibillion dollar company (Equifax). It is statistically unlikely that I will ever create something that valuable again. I am now in the DeFi space, doing some interesting things, so there is a possibility - but life has taught me not to hold my breath.

zoba 6y ago

Yes you are correct. Thankfully, as mentioned, I have mostly moved on from this. This appears to be his first post on HN, so, I felt compelled to comment to make him aware that his presence in forums, etc can be upsetting to people. And, while I don't think he should necessarily retreat from forums... I just hope that he is conscious of how his presence and words may affect people.

Judgmentality 6y ago

> while your anger is completely justified, you have to let it go, or it will destroy you Cheers to you for this. I know I would not be able to do the same.

xwdv 6y ago

I really don't get how someone can casually screw someone out of such vast sums of money and not live in fear watching their back the rest of their life. They must really be confident the individual would remain mentally stable. Not everyone will just walk away quietly and meditate, some people will definitely try to find the best way to put a bullet in your head. If you're going to screw someone, you should at least come up with some cover story that shifts the blame away from you, and even then you better hope the truth isn't discovered.

downandout 6y ago
I was very angry at first, but yes, he knew that I was not the type of person that would put a bullet in his head. He didn’t do anything to shift blame - he couldn’t. My name was all over the patents the company held, so he couldn’t deny my participation. He simply stopped talking to me and then used his lawyers to attempt to silence me. Unfortunately, karma just is not a thing. Among more than a dozen homes he owns are two mansions in California, each over 10k sq ft (at least one of which was paid for with my money), within about 10 minutes of each other. One is on a bluff overlooking the ocean, and the other is more inland where he rides horses with his wife, who is roughly half his age and who was married to someone else until it became obvious to her then-husband that she was pregnant with my business partner’s child. Ironically, among his other business ventures today is a Christian magazine/movie production company. I will never see justice served upon him. He will continue to live a fabulous life and I, quite likely, won’t. But being angry over it does nothing for me.
- xwdv 6y ago
  The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.

axiosgunnar 6y ago

Why do you believe you will never be able to start another project worth millions? If you did it once, you can do it again. You are even starting out ahead as you can impress investors with your past project!

downandout 6y ago
I have been trying ever since this happened, and so far have only had marginal success. You never know, I suppose, but that project sold for $64 million to a multibillion dollar company (Equifax). It is statistically unlikely that I will ever create something that valuable again. I am now in the DeFi space, doing some interesting things, so there is a possibility - but life has taught me not to hold my breath.