

Ask HN: My co-founder's lost passion for the company, what do I do? - vitaminsgalore

My co-founder has been having a tough time raising from VCs and we're very quickly running out of runway. However, traction and usability has never been higher -- we are growing pretty rapidly. Our numbers are fantastic, company is growing up and to the right.<p>Everyone in the company thinks there is potential to be a successful billion dollar company, even with the fierce traction some of our competitors are experiencing - we do not believe that this is a zero sum game.<p>Our CEO, who is also my co-founder, is now realizing that even if the company is successful, it does not align itself with his long term vision and he thinks the best path is an acquisition so that he can take the team and start a new company.<p>He's the primary shareholder in the company, but his lack of desire to continue is an issue because we have to depend on him to pitch the current company to VCs so that we may continue growing. If he no longer believes in the company, how can he really convince VCs to invest?<p>There is resistance to sell and obviously, if the CEO no longer believes in the company - even though it's growing, it doesn't make sense to continue. What are some options out of this mess? What do I do in this case? Who can I talk to?
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michaelpinto
A. You need to talk openly and honestly to the co-founder.

And frankly if you are in a disagreement you need to have constructive
suggestions rather than abstract disagreements like "you don't have the
passion". And yes a statement like "This could be a million dollar company" is
wonderful, but it doesn't mean much if you run out of runway. If you're
running out of runway is there any revenue coming in? Are there areas you can
cut back on? Are there better ways of investing the resources you have left?
Maybe the CEO shouldn't be doing the pitching at this point — maybe that's gig
goes to another person?

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vitaminsgalore
Yes, we've 5x'ed our revenue since last year. We're growing at roughly 40%
month over month.

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michaelpinto
If there is revenue coming in and you're running out of runway then if you
don't sell something needs to be cut. The only other option is to shift some
resources to get someone who just raises VC, or at least does the leg work.

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_kulte
You're growing like crazy, you could be a billion dollar company, you have
fierce traction... IMHO you're either misjudging the situation or your co-
founder is crazy.

Also, if you really are growing like crazy, why are you having trouble raising
money?

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vitaminsgalore
That's definitely a possibility. I might be misjudging the situation.

The feedback we've been receiving is that VCs believe, that even with our
growth, we can not beat our competition as they are much more heavily funded
and have a lot of mindshare at the moment.

However, even with insane growth, if your CEO does not pitch with conviction,
he will not convince a VC to invest. It's as much about passion and conviction
than it is just about numbers.

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2pasc
What kind of competition are we talking about?

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vitaminsgalore
Another startup that's VERY hot right now.

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dkersten
I'm sorry, I don't know the answers to your questions.

 _he thinks the best path is an acquisition so that he can take the team and
start a new company_

Most acquisitions are for the team, so if the company gets acquired, its
unlikely that he can take the team to start a new company.

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ssylee
Are you on the same page when it comes to finding ways to bring in revenue?

