

Ask HN: Does my co-founder need to quit his job before we seek seed money? - corford

Is it common for seed funds (like Kima15 for example) to expect co-founders to have quit their jobs before being approached? Or is there another way to do it that lets the fund commit to investing but on condition that the deal only closes once the co-founders have quit their existing jobs and come on board full time (with say a fixed time period for this to happen within e.g. 45 days)?<p>In my case, my co-founder wants to come on board full time but can&#x27;t afford to quit his senior position at an existing well funded start-up until I have at least some guarantee that I can get a seed round together.
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dakrisht
It really depends. Generally, once big money is involved (500k ), you should
both be full time.

I totally understand where you're coming from. Full-time co-founder here with
my counterpart having a full time job (a resident physician at that!). It's
tough but it works somehow especially since we are at the seed stage. But once
we start raising real money (1M ) there's no way he'll be able to continue
IMO. It can work but it's best if everyone is full-time.

I do know of a company with a co-founder who is also a resident physician and
they just raised $3M. So there's a real-world example of it working out. And
being a resident physician at a top-2 school is a much more difficult position
to drop out of - there's no going back.

Most investors will ask for 100% time commitments but if you spread
responsibility it can work (like the above scenario).

What matters most is: are you guys getting shit done? Are you making forward
progress? Things can always be better and more efficient but if you're moving
forward - keep moving.

You'll know when you need to propose the ultimatum to your co-founder. If
there's money on the table and he has to quit, it's easier vs. the assumption
(risk) of money being there.

Finally - add a few more players to your team. Offset the work to great
people. It will not only make you more efficient but will show investors that
people want to work with you. And they're committed to your product without
having real cash flow. As a CEO, one of the most exciting things is getting
great people to work with you. It's a great feeling and proves leadership. And
some good 'ole fashion convincing. Good luck.

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corford
Thanks. So I guess it can be done under the right circumstances.

>What matters most is: are you guys getting shit done?

Shit is most definitely getting done. A fully functioning MVP will be up and
running in January and my co-founder is ready to quit his job and join
immediately if we get a seed round in place.

I've also got a third guy who's great at what he does and is ready to be our
first hire (again, once we have some seed money available).

Also, in terms of the size of the seed round we'd seek, it's going to be a lot
closer to $150K than $500K.

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namenotrequired
Are you full time yourself? I'm by no means an expert but I was under the
impression that at the seed stage, they expect at least one of you to be full
time. You might need a very good answer though, to the question of "how do you
expect me to believe in you if you don't". (That question probably goes
unspoken often, so if you have a better answer to it than they will expect,
you might want to answer it before they ask.)

I've upvoted you, I'm NOT speaking from first hand experience so I really hope
someone with more experience can give better advice. Good luck!

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corford
I was hoping for a few replies as well as I'm really struggling to find anyone
in a similar position that's gone through it. To answer your question, yes,
I'm full time and have been working on it for almost 18 months. Bootstrapped
with all my savings and some family money.

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lacker
It's a fairly strong negative signal. Convince your cofounder to quit his job
and convince him that you will definitely get funding. It will be a good test
of your leadership skills.

~~~
corford
Thanks Kevin (just followed you on twitter btw). The negative signal is what
I'm worried about.

In your experience, do you think I have a chance of successfully counter
balancing that with the fact that I've already committed a large amount of my
own money, built a fully functioning MVP and have a team ready to go? i.e.
this is well beyond the pipe dream and fancy power point presentation stage.

