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Get what you can and get out. If you care about bringing the full product to market, accept that you might need to take less to avoid any clauses limiting your

Get what you can and get out. If you care about bringing the full product to market, accept that you might need to take less to avoid any clauses limiting your future work. Depending on the maturity of the company, there are a few different bits of value. Some you can take with you - your product vision - and now build in a linear path towards what brings value. Some things (IP) you won't be able to. But the real value in a company is the existing customers and PMF - if the company is still relatively young, the value you have moving forward is significant. So just build yourself back up and move on. Try not to hold hate in your heart, it will only set you back. Take care of your mental health, be kind to yourself, and figure out what you would be doing next without worrying about what they're doing - that is for your attorney to handle.

toomuchtodo 4y ago
Solid advice. Can probably take the engineering team with too if they can get funding on top of whatever cash comp they’re able to walk away with. Partners showed who they are, believe them the first time and don’t throw good effort after spent. Build your own.
- diamondage 4y ago
  Not sure about the team. There's a clause somewhere in the shareholders agreement about that.
  - toomuchtodo 4y ago
    Ask your attorney how far you can bend whatever that clause says. If they don’t want to continue to work with your partners, they can always leave for greener pastures.
  - edmundsauto 4y ago
    Don't worry about the team unless they have specific niche knowledge and experience. You built the team once, you can probably do it again. Poaching employees is dangerous territory for a soured relationship. By all means keep an eye on the talent, and if they leave on their own to join you, don't ignore them. But do not encourage or induce them to leave.
    - pinewurst 4y ago
      There’s poaching and there’s apprising the team of the situation. I’d hardly want to stay in an company where this sort of thing was happening…
spuz 4y ago
This is great advice. Perhaps not very satisfying in the short term but definitely the right thing to do in the long term.
diamondage 4y ago
Thanks @edmundsauto!
- edmundsauto 4y ago
  No worries. I lost 40+ combined years of friendships when my startup exited in an aquihire. It took me 4-5 years to get past what I felt was a betrayal, but once I did my career growth skyrocketed because I learned from it. to be fair to my 3 partners, they saw things differently. Who knows who was right in my situation. In yours, it sounds like there are clear villains but I think the advice is still sound.

toomuchtodo 4y ago

Solid advice. Can probably take the engineering team with too if they can get funding on top of whatever cash comp they’re able to walk away with. Partners showed who they are, believe them the first time and don’t throw good effort after spent. Build your own.

diamondage 4y ago
Not sure about the team. There's a clause somewhere in the shareholders agreement about that.
- toomuchtodo 4y ago
  Ask your attorney how far you can bend whatever that clause says. If they don’t want to continue to work with your partners, they can always leave for greener pastures.
- edmundsauto 4y ago
  Don't worry about the team unless they have specific niche knowledge and experience. You built the team once, you can probably do it again. Poaching employees is dangerous territory for a soured relationship. By all means keep an eye on the talent, and if they leave on their own to join you, don't ignore them. But do not encourage or induce them to leave.
  - pinewurst 4y ago
    There’s poaching and there’s apprising the team of the situation. I’d hardly want to stay in an company where this sort of thing was happening…

spuz 4y ago

This is great advice. Perhaps not very satisfying in the short term but definitely the right thing to do in the long term.

diamondage 4y ago

Thanks @edmundsauto!

edmundsauto 4y ago
No worries. I lost 40+ combined years of friendships when my startup exited in an aquihire. It took me 4-5 years to get past what I felt was a betrayal, but once I did my career growth skyrocketed because I learned from it. to be fair to my 3 partners, they saw things differently. Who knows who was right in my situation. In yours, it sounds like there are clear villains but I think the advice is still sound.