Have you ever asked a cofounder to exit after underperforming?

19g615kv10mde8 in

Software Engineer

Have you ever asked a cofounder to exit after underperforming?

I've been working with two other people on a company I started and have been working on the side for the past two years.

Recently it's been picking up, but my co-founder consistently lets me down. All the tasks they take on or I delegate to them they either fail to do, or do half-assed without asking for help/feedback. Most of the time, I need to go back and re-do the work myself.

I've spoken to them about this over the past year, but I have not seen a change.

With the recent growth, it's been frustrating me, since they are slowing me and my other teammate down considerably.

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klasnk23nkas23jknFounder

Definitely a delicate situation. I found the Managers Handbook to be a really good resource around handling these sorts of conversations: https://themanagershandbook.com/ The situation is more delicate granted this is a co-founder. Do you have any advisors or board members that can help you navigate this? They can help hold the cofounder accountable if they're not delivering. I would suggest treating coming up with measurable goals and checking in at milestones with them. When they come up short 1-2 more times, point to the specific examples where they felt short and have an open conversation of how they are not delivering and potential next steps. A few more resources: - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1991162 - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1796030

19g615kv10mde8Software Engineer

Thanks for the resources! Right now it's just the three of us, and I'm the founder that's relied on for accountability. I'll give these a read and see if I can set up a more measurable milestone. Thanks!

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