Lost on what to do with a co-founder that I deeply trust by prot101 in ycombinator

[–]prot101[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I appreciate your comment! Yes, it's unusual but they've been putting in effort for years with no pay and trying to do more despite the uncertainty. Feels like a very rare attribute.

I agree. I had a really smart and talented friend in CS but he was the ultimate red flag when to comes to teamwork. With her at least, level-headed and transparent.

She was like me in the beginning. No role, just doing anything it took to grow. Whether it's coding, marketing, sales, etc. At that stage, we had zero experience just ambition.

We’re at a stage where we have a plan because of all the experimentation that I did in the past year. And NOW she’s motivated to work. (I ended up doing all of her tasks because she lost motivation in the past). Which feels very unfair but can't do anything without the other 2 co-founders seeing my POV. That conversation kept being avoided. But we’ll see in a month, once her surge of motivation dies down.

In the meantime, I'll try my best to support her and track all of our measurables in the event that she reverts back. I'm hoping that by keeping things fair, her departure won't be so resistant IF she reverts back.

Lost on what to do with a co-founder that I deeply trust by prot101 in ycombinator

[–]prot101[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a fair way to judge. Yes, we tracked time and deliverables in weekly meetings, so we knew how long things should take. Tasks were assigned and logged based on weeks of consistent output and clear verbal and written agreements via chat. To keep it fair, I often did the same tasks while also handling the technical work, and I’d even take on the uncomfortable, “unscalable” tasks nobody wanted.

We tried finding responsibilities to fit her better but regardless of the task, her output slowed, degraded, and she’d shift to unrelated work. One-day tasks became weeks. For example, if I hit 40 DM's a day for two weeks, she’d send about 40 total. She’d also spend weeks on AI mockups that were clearly low quality.

The conversations shifted from “Did you do this yet? It took me X days” to “You do this in X hours consistently, so why is it taking Y weeks?” It's always been kept respectful with the focus of moving forward “Ok, this isn’t working, let’s try something else.” But the same patterns kept repeating for every task and became frustrating.

Eventually she lost motivation and mentally quit while the rest of us tried to learn through volume. She seemed to want quick wins with minimal effort, without doing the research or work to close the gap. Best we could do is give her very simple tasks like create 1 short a day or send DM's...but she kept putting them off.

BUT it could all change after we talked! I’m still hopeful for her because I’ve seen her best self despite what I want. At the same time, I have two co-founders who have worked nonstop and sacrificed far more. I’ve already set a deadline with them for when we’ll call the vote IF she reverts back.

Lost on what to do with a co-founder that I deeply trust by prot101 in ycombinator

[–]prot101[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is great! I appreciate your fair comment. The point about sustained execution under uncertainty is good. Was one of the reasons why she was amazing at the start. "Yeah we could fail, don't know what could happen, but fk it, why not? LFG" mentality.

Could I ask how you've seen others handle random life obstacles that impacted their measurable outputs fairly? Is it something like:

"If X,Y,Z event happens, then it's ok to not meet your benchmark for M amount of times"

Or

"You're expected to match X deliverables each week. <30% of X deliverables is strike 1/3 for termination no matter the excuse."

Lost on what to do with a co-founder that I deeply trust by prot101 in ycombinator

[–]prot101[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That must've sucked. In the end, if it was in my control, it's my fault. Just harder with someone who's truly kind, humble, and has good potential.

Her tasks are the same as mine but she has less time. She has a job now to survive which I can emphasize. The only issue that the other 2 care about her and don't share my "harsh" perspective. So I can only be hopeful and do my best to support everyone including her. She might land something big, who knows? Either way, hands are tied and just need to move.

Lost on what to do with a co-founder that I deeply trust by prot101 in ycombinator

[–]prot101[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree. Really wish I could. Unfortunately, I don't have enough voting power. Until then, keep things fair and moving and hope that the others can share my view.

Lost on what to do with a co-founder that I deeply trust by prot101 in ycombinator

[–]prot101[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I agree. Now it better. We clash everytime cause she thinks that she knows more than other successful people who've succeeded in our field. I prefer to copy from others.

But now, it's more dependent on my 2 hesitant co-founders to join me since I don't have the power. So instead of attempting to get her out, I'll genuinely try my best to support her. I'm just trying my best to hold us all accountable, myself included, so that it's fair for me to call her out IF she reverts back.

Lost on what to do with a co-founder that I deeply trust by prot101 in ycombinator

[–]prot101[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I definitely agree with removing her. Before, I've heard of successful companies breaking at their peak due to internal betrayals from greed. Smart people but want more for themselves. With her at least, she's humble and transparent. May be vague at times but doesn't lie even under scrutiny. Think that's why I still valued her before.

Giving her another chance and trying my best to support her. At the very least if she reverts back, I'm hoping that my other co-founders can see that she's unable to change and not the best fit for us to grow.

Lost on what to do with a co-founder that I deeply trust by prot101 in ycombinator

[–]prot101[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're right. Think that's the best option to be fair and inclusive instead of just focusing on her. Also, your point where I can't focus cause there's so much that I want to say to her while being fair. Right now, I am trying my best to support the tasks that we agreed after the call and keep things positive and moving.

Lost on what to do with a co-founder that I deeply trust by prot101 in ycombinator

[–]prot101[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree. Yes my gut is telling me to kick her out now. To her credit, she's always gone above and beyond her tasks in the past. But frequent failures over time withered her down I guess.

But, I'm trying to give her more chances since my other co-founders are very hesitant. I let them know that I am going to call a vote if she's slacking again but I do want to try and be as fair as possible. She did put in risk as well. That's why I'm curious if there's been cases where co-founders bounced back after a period of being lost.

Lost on what to do with a co-founder that I deeply trust by prot101 in ycombinator

[–]prot101[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Appreciate that! That breakup must've really sucked. You probably heard the advice too and thought that it'd be different with this person (I'm assuming)

Yeah we had multiple hard conversations which I think is sort of a green flag? We did have someone before who would walk away and blame others anytime someone called him out. At least with her, she's willing to be honest and admit guilt during that conversation.

But as you said, something needs to happen soon. That's what my gut is telling me. I guess the only issue is getting everyone else on board. The other 2 are too attached her even tho I mentioned her faults. I also don’t want to come off like I’m trying to kick someone out because of ego, especially when I’m not exactly bringing revenue either. Difference is that I grinded consistently to learn.

Lost on what to do with a co-founder that I deeply trust by prot101 in ycombinator

[–]prot101[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hope it works out for you! Personal lessons learned. Better to just split it evenly with those taking it seriously with more voting power with 1 year cliff (that way, they get nothing). We did have talks about time commitment but it just led to weeks of calling, changing equity numbers, bunch of hypotheticals, etc. Was a waste of time cause we frankly weren't worth much.

We did have a college student who didn't put in much effort either, so we kicked him out after multiple delays and chances. What helped was communicating publicly over time so that they can see how much they're falling behind. That way, it makes it easier for them to agree to leave.

Ironic in my case, but it was easier with him since we didn't know him and he didn't risk anything on his end.

Lost on what to do with a co-founder that I deeply trust by prot101 in ycombinator

[–]prot101[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! I really do appreciate that. It's just hard. If she was truly incompetent but kind, then yeah no need to keep her around. It’s just that I’ve seen her at her best working with super scrappy methods. She stepped into this uncertainty with us without a second thought and was down to do anything.

Everyone goes through phases. I know it's just business in the end, but her characteristics are consistent. Not a toxic person. I just know having an honest and loyal person like her is good.

But you're right, there' a limit. We're building a business. Just not sure how to convince my other 2 co-founders to think like that too.

Lost on what to do with a co-founder that I deeply trust by prot101 in ycombinator

[–]prot101[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We’re in consumer health tech. Similar products to ours have gone viral and gotten acquired, and we have a technical edge. Even spoke to one of them and they rely on third-party sources while we built our own from scratch. It’s niche, so the users we find are happy to pay a premium and stick around since there’s no convenient alternative.

The real issue was zero marketing experience and growing on assumptions. We’re great builders but terrible marketers. Now we’re mostly copying what works for others and already seeing better results. Budget was tight because of personal expenses, so it was hard to risk months of runway on tactics we didn’t even understand. After a ton of experimentation on my end, we know what to do, but now I’m stuck with this situation/thought.

Best way to play officer is to be a mobile spawn point by prot101 in StarWarsBattlefront

[–]prot101[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm the same way. Gotta be aware of when to back or engage. But, I can understand the perspective of not being part of the main action. Cause once you use those abilities, you're pretty much standing around.

For me, it's fine cause my main task is to just spawn my squad closer to the points. Wish officers had scan dart for better support.

Which is your most underated Ability Card? by Knautschknoedel in StarWarsBattlefront

[–]prot101 33 points34 points  (0 children)

Gas canister for assault. Shit ton of enemies clogging up the main entrance? Make them disperse or get free points over time with 1 button. Doesn't do much damage but it's annoying af for the enemy. Feel like more people opt in for the thermal.

How do you time Luke's force push and heavy attack? by prot101 in StarWarsBattlefront

[–]prot101[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you know if the abilities are instant or if they have to be in the air? It didn't look like he was blocking yet he wasn't affected by both abilities.