| I'm in the uncommon position of having actually had to do this. It wasn't a "firing" per se as much as a parting of ways which I initiated, but here's what I learned: • Discuss it very frankly with at least one board member you trust. Depending on their involvement with the business they may already suspect that something is wrong. Outline to this board member your concerns that Co-Founder is going to take this the wrong way and derail the business. • Discuss with Co-Founder the specific areas you feel Co-Founder isn't pulling his weight (it isn't okay, even if it's the truth, to say "he isn't doing anything"). Make an irreducible list: start with what are obviously his strengths, and then list the ways in which he is not playing to them. Make it inarguable and prevent it from turning into a personal matter. • Keep the focus on company not him. For the company to succeed, you need to accomplish XYZ. • Explain very clearly what his options are. You are not trying to screw him, but you are displeased with his input. You would like to amicably resolve this so that the board doesn't have to be involved, but failing that you will take it to the board and ask them to do their job by sorting it out. He can accept reduced equity and no day-to-day involvement, or he can kick up a fuss and you will move him on. Either way he should accept the reality that his involvement is coming to an end and that his decision now is how it ends. Your board, if they have any kind of experience in running a business whatsoever, will know that this is one of a billion things which will go "wrong" over the four or five years it will take to make or break your biz. You can influence a lot in the way you communicate this event to them. It sounds to me like it's not truly a crisis but a significant opportunity for you to offload someone who is not contributing and reallocate capital to someone who will put in the hours. My overriding advice is that you should not worry about this. Next time you start a company be sure to finalise your divorce before you finalise your marriage (i.e. very clearly delineate duties for founders and establish what success for your roles looks like), but other than running out of capital or not growing, very few things are disastrous for a startup. |