Ask HN: How to pass my startup on to someone else?

[BayezLyfe]

Succinctly, I'm solo founder of a promising stealth startup with angel funding [1], but due to personal circumstances I need to take an extended amount of time off (likely a year or more). One option is to give the money back and kill the startup, letting go the one other fulltime team member. I would much prefer to transition the startup to others to take the reins, while I maintain a minimal supervisory role with a little equity [2]. Is there precedent for this? Am I crazy to think this is possible? Any examples?

There are people I'm confident can take the reins -- I've been recruiting them to join in December. How can I suggest this plan to them without showing weakness (in the company and myself)?

[1] The angels really invested in me, not so much the business, so I anticipate they will want their money back.

[2] Honestly don't care about keeping a massive amount of equity. I just want to see the tech deployed and help people.

[curo]

This may not be feasible or desirable but is there a competitor in this space that could benefit from an acquihire? Of course you're at risk of them exploiting that situation, so you might have to pursue multiple parties for several weeks to get a fair bid.

All the best with your personal circumstance

Edit: by acquihire I mean the other person you've hired.

[BayezLyfe]

Thank you. Appreciate the advice and kind wishes.

For better or worse, I have been exploring acquihire for a few weeks already, with several interested parties. However those discussions have not included the current circumstance, where I personally would not be 100% involved post-acquisition. I imagine this could be a dealbreaker.

[mooreds]

I would discuss the situation frankly with the most experienced angel investor you have. They'll hopefully have seen something like this before and can talk you through the particulars.