4 ms·

Whats obvious that I should have done? These guys were my friends and only acted like this because they have an advisor they trust telling them to.

avenger123 13y ago
They were not your friends. Friends don't do that.
- robotjosh 13y ago
  This was a long scam then. Over a year of being gym partners, playing racquetball, drinking, all the stuff you would do with people you consider friends.
  - rhizome 13y ago
    Pretty much.
  - avenger123 13y ago
    Please don't take my comment the wrong way. I understand it can be considered somewhat snarky. An advisor did not force any of your "friends" to do what they did. They made a conscious decision to act. People screw each other all the time. It's part of life. The main thing is that you learn from this.
  - DavidTNcl 13y ago
    I created an account to reply. A YEAR! MF! That's meant to be long! FTS! A friend is someone you have validate of ten or twenty years of shared adventure. Treat everyone else as a possible friend (and likely tosser).
pbiggar 13y ago
I have some bad news for you :(
joemoon 13y ago
I'm a day late, but it seems that nobody has answered your question. Here are some things you could have done differently: - Have a vesting schedule for your equity. This way if things go south, you'll have a certain portion of your equity vested. - Negotiate a higher equity stake in the first place if you're playing such a founding role. In my opinion, if the product didn't exist before you joined the team, then you're a founder. Remember that we're looking at this with the benefit of hindsight. - Made the agreement up front that you had control over the technical decisions since you have the expertise to make those decisions.
- robotjosh 13y ago
  I should have done these things but I let my guard down. I'm in a city trying to be a new startup city so there was a lot of attention and money thrown at one of the first startups. Everything was given to us, everyone wanted to advise and invest in us. I assumed this community would make sure nobody on this team screws each other because it would look bad. I owned 10% outright but was dazzled by techstars into signing papers that put me on a vesting cliff.

avenger123 13y ago

They were not your friends. Friends don't do that.

robotjosh 13y ago
This was a long scam then. Over a year of being gym partners, playing racquetball, drinking, all the stuff you would do with people you consider friends.
- rhizome 13y ago
  Pretty much.
- avenger123 13y ago
  Please don't take my comment the wrong way. I understand it can be considered somewhat snarky. An advisor did not force any of your "friends" to do what they did. They made a conscious decision to act. People screw each other all the time. It's part of life. The main thing is that you learn from this.
- DavidTNcl 13y ago
  I created an account to reply. A YEAR! MF! That's meant to be long! FTS! A friend is someone you have validate of ten or twenty years of shared adventure. Treat everyone else as a possible friend (and likely tosser).

pbiggar 13y ago

I have some bad news for you :(

joemoon 13y ago

I'm a day late, but it seems that nobody has answered your question. Here are some things you could have done differently: - Have a vesting schedule for your equity. This way if things go south, you'll have a certain portion of your equity vested. - Negotiate a higher equity stake in the first place if you're playing such a founding role. In my opinion, if the product didn't exist before you joined the team, then you're a founder. Remember that we're looking at this with the benefit of hindsight. - Made the agreement up front that you had control over the technical decisions since you have the expertise to make those decisions.

robotjosh 13y ago
I should have done these things but I let my guard down. I'm in a city trying to be a new startup city so there was a lot of attention and money thrown at one of the first startups. Everything was given to us, everyone wanted to advise and invest in us. I assumed this community would make sure nobody on this team screws each other because it would look bad. I owned 10% outright but was dazzled by techstars into signing papers that put me on a vesting cliff.