Co-founder Questions

vidyaranya

New member
Hello Everyone,

I have this startup idea that I want to apply to Y combinator with. I built a basic MVP in about 3 months. After looking at YC's website, it seems like they prefer having a co-founder over being alone (I understand there reasoning behind this). I do not have a company in place and I have no board members. I just have an idea that I am working on (Nothing official). I have a few questions regarding this:

1) If I was not able to find a co-founder before the next cycle's application deadline, is it best to apply any way without a co-founder or wait for the next cycle after I find a co-founder?

2) Let us assume that I spent time interviewing and found this co-founder that I thought would be perfect to bring along. After a few months, I realized they do not do anything or they have very low quality of work.

- Can I fire them?

- If so, what gives me the right to fire them?

3) Can the co-founder that I brought in fire me instead? How can this be done? What can I do to prevent them from doing that?

4) Can they join for a few months, understand the idea well, and then quit and execute it by themselves because they believe they can do a better job while having a larger equity?

5) What is a good split to have with a co-founder. I thought 60-40 would be good because it was my idea and I have already built a prototype while 40% is still high enough to keep them motivated to work in the long run. I saw that YC recommends 50-50 but I am not sure if this is the right path at this stage. Would like to hear your thoughts on that.

6) Would it be best to have a contract that they sign when they join? If so, do I have to find a lawyer to write it for me?

Thank you all for your responses and time.
 
@vidyaranya The main reason they prefer teams over solo founders is this: if there’s any disagreement with your cofounder, they get to become a kingmaker. So 46.5% + 7%=53.5%. And that gives them majority votes which is enough to basically do anything, even push one founder out completely. In the worst case scenario they can have a deal with your cofounder to push you out.
 
@vidyaranya All really great questions, and no easy answers because each situation is unique. Before I turned to building my own company I was a start-up attorney, feel free to message me and we can talk through it!
 
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