Ask HN: Co-founder woes. Pl advice | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Co-founder woes. Pl advice

6 pointsxrqt6 comments

I have a background in UX/UI and biz-dev, and my (technical) co-founder is a full stack developer with a focus on back-end.

I've known my co-founder for over 15 yrs now, and he is like family to me. A few years back we decided to work on a side project with a goal to launch it as a business. We failed. The reasons were typical - but mainly because we couldn't execute and develop a prototype to take to customers on time. I learned about my shortcomings and continue to work on them. I also had a painful realization - I had overestimated my co-founder's tech skills, aptitude, attitude, and basic understanding of what it takes to build & launch a startup.

We decided to put the project on hold, and pursue another idea for which I have domain expertise. It also seemed more promising and d-able. We talked candidly about the lessons learned from the failed project, concerns, red flags etc. We also decided to keep our day jobs while we worked on building the prototype/ product - so we knew that it would take longer than usual.

Now we've been working on the product for over 2.5 years. And we are running into similar issues. We even outsourced some of the development - at the risk of delaying the project further. So far we've managed to build out 60% of the product (and validated the idea with several potential users/ customers), but I feel hopeless about completing the remaining 40%. It has been buggy/ incomplete since it was developed (some of it 1.5 yrs back). And my co-founder seems clueless. After so many missteps, I've stopped bouncing product ideas off him (something that co-founders naturally do). I've stopped depending on him to help with custom/er demo's, and I'm finding it harder to trust his judgement & approach when it comes to solving problems.

I want to help him. And it is partly for this reason that I want this project to be successful. But trying to do so is taking a toll on my health, family life, and my general well being.

Please advice!

It's difficult to give feedback without knowing what the product is.

That said, the tradeoff most startup developers have to deal with is how to balance quality vs time. At every stage of funding, this shifts more and more towards stability being important, but until you have users, you really just need to get the very basics working okay enough.

Not all developers are good at accepting this approach. I even know of good developers that are not good at this approach, because it sometimes requires prioritizing product and instantaneous business needs over software engineering principles. However, it's really the best approach because most code you write today won't be there in 6 months or more as your understanding of the user and their problem(s) evolves.

It is not an insult to your co-founder, if he's choosing not to work under this style. Perhaps considering contracting out building the prototype or learning to code yourself.

2.5 years is a long time to be working on something with no tangible result that is bringing in money. Of course, I don't know what sort of product you're working on, but it is possible that you've simply picked something that will take too many man-hours to build for the size of your team.

I've launched my own products before, and they're usually something I can finish in 2-3 months working full-time with a part-time designer. If you only have weekends and holidays, even one of those could take as much as a year, if not more.

The only thing that is going to get you excited again is to get some tangible result from your work. Try to simplify the product down to a small prototype you can test on your target market. It doesn't even need to be an app. It could be an Invision or a 'fake' app that shows the navigation and what your app could do.

Get some people together and show them your prototype. Get feedback. Improve upon it.

If they really like what you're doing, it might give you a sense that you're on the right track. You need shorter feedback cycles to get energized about these sorts of things. That's my experience, at least.

If you relayed these sentiments to your co-founder would he understand or take offense? If your co-founder is level-headed maybe the right approach would be to say, "Look, this product is on the fast track to nowhere and it isn't doing any of us any good. Honestly, it's taking a toll on my health and it's putting a strain on our relationship. You're like family to me and I don't want that to change. I've thought about this long and hard and the way I see it, there are only two options left: we both agree to shelf this product or one of us should buy out the other. What do you want to do?"

"Jim, it's been 2.5 years. How do you feel about this project? You still have passion for it? If you could do a change anything about what we've done, what would it be?"

Then listen to what he "says".

Sounds like you need a new technical co-founder with the skills and/or desire to make your product happen.

Since you guys are like family just bring it up with him, ask him if his heart is in continuing and pursuing this.

You can lead him toward shelving it or you continuing on without him if that's your desire.

The time frames seem really long. Apps start to feel dated after a couple years and this latest one you're saying is 1.5 yrs old and still not ready to demo.

Talk it over with him tell him you want to focus on remaining close friends and see what you can work out.

Good luck.

I want to help him. And it is partly for this reason that I want this project to be successful.

So, it sounds like some important information is missing. And it sounds like you are doing this as charity for him. That is not likely to result in a viable business.

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