First-time founder dilemmas. Cofounder issues, idea, perfection over fast launch, long time to develop a simple solution...
Hi Indie Hackers, I am struggling quite a bit right now as a first-time founder and maybe some of you have been through these occasions and know the answers.
I want to bootstrap my first business. Currently working on it for some time and the first thing I did was find a tech cofounder. We came to an idea together and ever since then, I'm just having issues with him.
What do I want to do? Launch a mobile app as quickly as possible. I paid for everything so far. I am devoting all of my time to it, getting advice from experienced people (co-founder with exits, marketing & branding strategist, VC investor with great market overview), finding & managing UI designer, executing market research, building a landing page, finding solutions to launch quickly, etc. If it was my way the product would have been launched already.
What does my cofounder do? Nothing, except having a couple of calls with me where he criticizes everything. His main task is to develop the MVP, which I tried to make as simple as possible from a tech perspective. He told me that it would take 6 months to develop, after discussing it with some of my other tech friends they told me that it would take 2-3 weekends. Also, he already knows what the functions are, so he can already start developing the structure.
-He wants to have everything perfect, including UI design, etc.
-When it comes to tech topics like utilizing no-code solutions which I found he wants me to book the meetings and find out as much about it as possible, which should be his task since he's focused on tech in my opinion + I would be the one creating it in no code
-The app is supposed to be at the stage where it won't need any reworking on launch from his POV
-Our business approaches are completely different
-I am putting all the time & work in
-He isn't willing to fully commit to the business after the launch
I am getting the feeling that he's just making everything harder and more problematic. I even came to the realization that I can launch it fast and completely on my own with no code. What are your thoughts on this? How to proceed? Is it fair to just tell him that I will launch it completely myself when we came to the idea together?
We're friends, but I feel that this just isn't fair cooperation, to begin with. If we already have issues now, I can't imagine how it's going to look in the future.
Your solution is right in your own statement: "We're friends, but I feel that this just isn't fair cooperation, to begin with. If we already have issues now, I can't imagine how it's going to look in the future."
Unfortunately, it's time to part ways and make progress on your project. Seek an amicable break up and find an alternative solution or a look for a new partner.
We already solved it between us, thanks a lot for your tips. I'm currently validating the product we wanted to launch, which will on 90% result with a "scratch-off".
Here's a link with the prototype - would love to hear your thoughts! 😁
https://www.indiehackers.com/post/how-did-we-end-up-not-burning-money-killed-product-building-in-public-with-in-depth-outtakes-whats-next-2aa53431df
It would be better if you breakup now rather than wait until things are more concrete. It would get even tougher when you have put in money and there are no results. You need to have trust for partnership to work. It's clearly not working in this case.
I have already put the money & even the time in. I hired and managed a UI designer since he wanted some very unique and perfect design instead of just going with what works on the market and finishing it quickly on our own. By the end of the day, we ended up waiting for 3 weeks for an unfinished mediocre-looking design that had cost money, instead of just combining it together from some templates.
So his current mentality is just costing time & money, with him not executing anything at all. Currently, I'm still finishing the UI design for the prototype on my own, so the outcome was just lost time & money.
I just need to try a couple of no-code solutions and see what's possible with them and try to launch as many products as possible. Paying someone from revenue looks like a better option to me.
We already solved it between us, thanks a lot for your tips. I'm currently validating the product we wanted to launch, which will on 90% result with a "scratch-off".
Here's a link with the prototype - would love to hear your thoughts! 😁
https://www.indiehackers.com/post/how-did-we-end-up-not-burning-money-killed-product-building-in-public-with-in-depth-outtakes-whats-next-2aa53431df
The legal part is delicate, so act before anything is created. To me, there's a bit of a gap between you two in the vision of the project and philosophy.
The fact that he asked for 6 months to develop the MVP could be a signal he doesn't believe so much in the project, but it could also just be that he's a perfectionist (many tech guys I know are like that).
I also struggled at the beginning with my co-founder, and it has been a hard and long process to push the "IndieHacker" mentality in him, who wanted everything perfect before showing it to the audience.
Sending him articles and posts from this forum, and some similar ones, helped me show him what others do, how they behave, how you should see and face the challenges, and what workflow people (and some of them have been really successful) use. Little by little he understood and changed, and now luckily we move at the same speed.
I would say test him: give yourself a couple of weeks to test his passion and will participate, if the situation doesn't improve, let him go. This is all part of the entrepreneurial journey.
I am not sure if it's worth it trying to try to change the mindset of someone. I've got a lot of things on my plate to take care of. The issue is when it comes to execution, I'm doing everything so far. How long did it take you to change your co-founder's mentality?
I also believe that during the "changing mentality process" I could already launch multiple projects with no code. Then hire someone from revenue, or find some other co-founder, in the case of no-code, some marketing co-founder would be a better fit.
It depends on whether you feel that his contribution is essential (if collaborative) or not. It seems that you already found a solution, you calculated the time needed and researched tools and techs to proceed on your own.
It took some months for me, but in the meantime (just like you considered doing) I started no-coding an MVP, I learned a lot along the way, and I prepared myself to go on alone.
Luckily in the end, with the right stimuli and some patience, I could make him understand my vision and get him totally on board.
We already solved it between us, thanks a lot for your tips. I'm currently validating the product we wanted to launch, which will on 90% result with a "scratch-off".
Here's a link with the prototype - would love to hear your thoughts! 😁
https://www.indiehackers.com/post/how-did-we-end-up-not-burning-money-killed-product-building-in-public-with-in-depth-outtakes-whats-next-2aa53431df
It sounds like you need to rip the bandaid off. What is the probability that you stick with him and things work out? 10%? 1%? 0.1%? You need to make an honest evaluation and go from there. Don't stick with him just because he's your friend. That'll delay the inevitable and potentially make things worse for both of you.
If you think there's still a chance he could deliver, start setting concrete goals. Ask him, "When can we get XYZ completed?" and then hold him accountable to that date. Or ask him to contribute financially.
We already solved it between us, thanks a lot for your tips. I'm currently validating the product we wanted to launch, which will on 90% result with a "scratch-off".
Here's a link with the prototype - would love to hear your thoughts! 😁
https://www.indiehackers.com/post/how-did-we-end-up-not-burning-money-killed-product-building-in-public-with-in-depth-outtakes-whats-next-2aa53431df
Well, he told me in 6 months, which is an unrealistic time frame from my point. I don't want to spend 6 months of my life on something that can be launched in 1.
What do you think about the "idea" part? My take on it would be "We got it together, let's execute it separately if you want to launch it too". Which is fair from my POV.
Regarding the financial side, it would be more efficient to get some angel investors instead - I don't think it's necessary at the moment.
This comment was deleted 2 years ago.
We haven't even created a legal entity yet. There are no contracts, no equity split, etc. at all yet. So I guess that it's solved with it, I don't think that he can come to me after years and claim ownership of something without any legal contract, right?
This comment was deleted 2 years ago.
We already solved it between us, thanks a lot for your tips. I'm currently validating the product we wanted to launch, which will on 90% result with a "scratch-off".
Here's a link with the prototype - would love to hear your thoughts! 😁
https://www.indiehackers.com/post/how-did-we-end-up-not-burning-money-killed-product-building-in-public-with-in-depth-outtakes-whats-next-2aa53431df
Will give it a shot, hopefully it won't be needed :)