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Ask HN: Has anyone quit their startup (VC-backed) over cofounder disagreements?

77 points stuck12345 | 1 comments | 11 Apr 25 16:16 UTC | HN request time: 0.38s | source

hey fam, i'm at a crossroads where i'm considering quitting my startup and taking a job or alternate paths and wanted y'alls opinion.

i've been working on a startup for the past 24 months with my cofounder - i'm technical and she's mostly focused on business side (with basic frontend skills). we got funded roughly 18 months ago for an idea i came up with, was excited about, and found some traction.

since then we pivoted away from it. we've roughly pivoted almost every month to something new. there is no longer any vision or clear problem we're trying to solve. each month is our team simply fishing for ideas in different industries and domains hoping to strike gold.

my cofounder and i don't see eye to eye on most things anymore and the relationship has also deteriorated significantly. my cofounder and i disagree upon what problems to focus on. for her, ideas only resonate if there are competitors who've raised $X million or hit certain revenue targets with no regard for interest or insights for a problem/industry. i'd much rather work on problems where i have some inherent interest and/or urge to solve the problem but it's hard to drive a shared vision between us both. this is a constant point of friction.

after 24 months of working together, i'm now considering quitting my own startup to either go do another one or take a job where i can find problems and a future cofounder. has anyone been through anything similar in the past? how did you navigate this?

1. ra0x3 ◴[11 Apr 25 19:50 UTC] No.43657781[source]▶
As fzwang mentions, your co-founder relationship IS the business at this point. I'd talk to your co-founder 1:1 and really have some uncomfortable conversations. If you both feel like the relationship is not salvageable, amicably walk away without burning the professional bridge (someone might ask her how you are to work with). If your heart is not 100% in it (for whatever reason) I'd suggest walking away. The opportunity cost of dragging the dead weight of a business that you're not bought into (and that you aren't seeing success with) is simply too high - and can have real life consequences (finances, stresses, etc). There's nothing wrong with walking away - there's a reason the overwhelming majority of startups fail. And most tiny startups fail due to co-founder relationships - doesn't have anything to do with PMF or anything. Think about it over a weekend - have the tough conversation(s) - don't burn the bridge. Live to fight another day. The sun is still shining outside and the NBA is still rigged to always make sure the Lakers are relevant ;)