I've been a co-founder of 2 startups, and have been the first employee of several others. In every single case, after moving on to the next one, I had to take s

I've been a co-founder of 2 startups, and have been the first employee of several others. In every single case, after moving on to the next one, I had to take steps to remind people at those companies that I had a role in their founding and that erasing my name from their history wasn't acceptable. When a co-founder leaves, I think there's a tendency to believe that an origin story where a co-founder leaves somehow reflects poorly on the company. A clean story broadcasts "stability" or "competence" or whatever. Origin stories where someone leaves bring up questions. Or at least I assume that's the thinking. Whatever the motivation, it's insulting, and can actually be damaging to the person being erased from the story. On one occasion a company I'd co-founded found ourselves in the awkward position of having a major partner of ours pull out of a deal we were putting together. During their due diligence they found no evidence of my involvement in a previous company, despite our claims of my involvement. It took a lawyer to compel the owners of the company I'd co-founded (and which had been sold by then), that I indeed co-founded it and still owned 10% of (though not really - those shares were converted to the equivalent value of shares in acquiring company, but you get the idea). The deal was saved, but only after a lot of tedious back and forth between legal teams of all those involved. Part of the problem is that it's not just the company changing its origin story, but it's all the Crunchbase's reflecting that incorrect story. People use these resources as "truth," and that can be difficult or impossible to set straight. Every startup has an origin story, and very few are "clean." I think the better origin stories are the ones that demonstrate that despite the friction all startups face, the friction wasn't enough to stop a company from becoming what it becomes. If you're in a startup: own your truth. Show your flaws. Be authentic. When I see a "perfect" origin story, I know it's bullshit, and I won't trust you, let alone be an angel investor or advisor. I know I'm not alone in thinking that.