I'm in the same situation but am growing more unhappy with it as time passes. A close friend is CEO/Idea Person/Sales Person with myself doing the development. A few big challenges I'm running into are:
- rudimentary stuff like web copy updates inevitably have to be done by me making it feel like I'm a glorified gopher
- a total lack of understanding on their part about the technology we're using (web apps, Facebook apps, UX, etc.) and lack of willingness to learn/contribute somewhere there
- a fixation with networking and building relationships as opposed to contributing directly to the product. Not one of these contacts has significantly impacted our product or bottom line despite numerous meetings, coffees, etc.
- big disagreements over our financial model. I advocated pursuing revenue immediately from day one vs. the "let's grow a big audience and figure out how to monetize later." This was a big source of tension. It took over a year for this person to realize our acquisition/monetization ratio was completely FUBAR before we "pivoted" to an actual revenue model. Now we're playing catch up.
- serious damage to our friendship. Now we only talk during the work week, never outside of it.
I give this person credit for raising the initial funding, however, I can't help but wonder if I'd be better off solo and trying to find a cofounder later as Mark Suster's article mentions. Part of me wants to walk, but another part feels like I should just suck it up and see it through until the end.
I'm sorry. That's a really hard position to be in.
On another note what does "sucking it up until the end" entail? Where is the end? What happens when you get there? Lastly, what's the worst thing that would happen if you were to walk away?
Just some questions that popped into my mind. Hopefully you find them useful. Best of luck.
One of the problems that I have is that I am considered a "non-technical" person because I am not a coder, yet I AM very technical. I have very good technical skills - but they are not around development.
I am fixing that now though by learning to code - but at the same time, people need to also recognize that non-technical does NOT immediately mean "Marketing/MBA".
Comments
I'm in the same situation but am growing more unhappy with it as time passes. A close friend is CEO/Idea Person/Sales Person with myself doing the development. A few big challenges I'm running into are:
- rudimentary stuff like web copy updates inevitably have to be done by me making it feel like I'm a glorified gopher
- a total lack of understanding on their part about the technology we're using (web apps, Facebook apps, UX, etc.) and lack of willingness to learn/contribute somewhere there
- a fixation with networking and building relationships as opposed to contributing directly to the product. Not one of these contacts has significantly impacted our product or bottom line despite numerous meetings, coffees, etc.
- big disagreements over our financial model. I advocated pursuing revenue immediately from day one vs. the "let's grow a big audience and figure out how to monetize later." This was a big source of tension. It took over a year for this person to realize our acquisition/monetization ratio was completely FUBAR before we "pivoted" to an actual revenue model. Now we're playing catch up.
- serious damage to our friendship. Now we only talk during the work week, never outside of it.
I give this person credit for raising the initial funding, however, I can't help but wonder if I'd be better off solo and trying to find a cofounder later as Mark Suster's article mentions. Part of me wants to walk, but another part feels like I should just suck it up and see it through until the end.
I'm sorry. That's a really hard position to be in.
On another note what does "sucking it up until the end" entail? Where is the end? What happens when you get there? Lastly, what's the worst thing that would happen if you were to walk away?
Just some questions that popped into my mind. Hopefully you find them useful. Best of luck.
One of the problems that I have is that I am considered a "non-technical" person because I am not a coder, yet I AM very technical. I have very good technical skills - but they are not around development.
I am fixing that now though by learning to code - but at the same time, people need to also recognize that non-technical does NOT immediately mean "Marketing/MBA".
Everyone is/should be Sales though.