Co-founded a SaaS with my best friend. 8 months in, we can't agree on anything. The product is stuck and so is the friendship.

🚀 Startup & Businessby cofounder_split · 5w ago

▸ What I did

My best friend (backend dev) and I (designer/frontend) decided to build a project management tool for creative agencies. 50/50 equity split, no vesting schedule, no formal agreement (we're best friends, why would we need one?). Spent 8 months building the MVP.

▸ What I expected

Dream team. Ship fast, iterate, grow together.

▸ What actually happened

Month 4: first disagreement. Month 5: he refactored the entire backend without telling me. Month 6: I made a landing page, he was furious because "the product isn't ready." Month 7: he wants to pivot to B2B enterprise. I want to stay B2C. Month 8: we barely speak except through Slack. I'm terrified that ending the business means ending the friendship.

▸ What I've tried so far

Tried a "CEO for the week" system (lasted 2 weeks). Tried bringing in a mutual friend as mediator. Tried splitting responsibilities formally. Currently avoiding the real conversation.

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3 Replies

second_time_founder · 5w ago✓ the fix

"No vesting schedule, no formal agreement" — I had the exact same setup with my first co-founder. It ended in a lawyer's office. Here's the conversation you need to have THIS WEEK: who is the CEO? Not "co-CEO." Not "we decide together." ONE person with final decision-making authority. If you can't agree on who that is, the partnership is already over and you're just delaying the pain. A good co-founder relationship isn't about agreeing on everything — it's about having a clear tiebreaker when you disagree.

lawyer_for_startups · 5w ago

Startup attorney here. 50/50 equity with no vesting and no operating agreement is the most common startup-killing structure I see. Please get a lawyer involved NOW — not because you're going to sue each other, but because a lawyer can help you formalize roles, create a vesting schedule retroactively, and add a shotgun clause (either party can make an offer to buy the other out at a specific price, and the other party must either accept or buy YOU out at that price). It sounds harsh but it's the cleanest exit mechanism for 50/50 deadlocks. The cost of a lawyer now ($1,500-3,000) is nothing compared to the cost of a messy breakup later.

indie_hacker_vet · 5w ago

The B2C vs B2B disagreement is actually the most important one to resolve first. Everything flows from that: pricing, features, sales model, even the tech stack. Here's a framework: give yourselves 2 weeks. Each person talks to 10 potential customers in THEIR preferred segment (he talks to 10 enterprise prospects, you talk to 10 small agencies). Come back with evidence: who has higher willingness to pay? Who has a shorter sales cycle? Let the MARKET decide, not your opinions. If one segment clearly wins, the loser commits fully. If neither wins, flip a coin. Seriously. Any direction is better than deadlock.

Status

✗ stuck

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