>> I've invested too much time and energy to bail now Economics would tell you to ignore sunk costs. I sympathize with your emotional attachment to this projec

>> I've invested too much time and energy to bail now Economics would tell you to ignore sunk costs. I sympathize with your emotional attachment to this project and like you, I would feel like I was failing if I "gave up" on the last 15 months. But that isn't what you're doing - you're just facing facts. If you can no longer make ends meet, you either need take a salary, or leave. Be honest with your co-founders: remind them that you were willing to take a huge gamble on the business and that you've gone 15 months without a salary. Give them an ultimatum: either they make it possible for you to get a salary now, or you go on your way. This way it's not a unilateral decision to leave, and if it's possible for you to stay, you get that chance. Again, I sympathize with your situation and I wish you the best of luck!